Vandread, The Third Stage: The Pereira Star Empire
by a440
Summary: Finally...a saga that picks up where The Second Stage left off, one year later, with a new formidible enemy, and some original characters, stuff like that. Finished at last!
1. Prologue: The Alpha

VANDREAD, THE THIRD STAGE:  
THE PEREIRA STAR EMPIRE

Let's remember that Vandread remains (and rightly so) the trademark of Gonzo. You know what other trademarks the others belong to, right?

Picking up where Vandread, The Second Stage left off, here's what happens, one year after Hibiki Tokai (Japanese for Echo City) & co. bested once and for all,  
the Earth Harvesters.

Dedicated to all Vandread otaku worldwide!!

PROLOGUE: THE ALPHA

Below the blue skies of a fully healed planet Earth was a seaside city that had been centuries ago, once known as San Francisco--a city that had been full of vibrant buildings, places and people before it would be ravaged by poison air, acid oceans, and all other machinations caused by the seeds that evolved into The Earth Harvest.

But that had been years, possibly eons ago, until The Harvest had been defeated by the combined efforts of the forces of the males of Taarak, the females of Mejere, the crew of the pirate ship Nirvana, and many other planetary races. After that, several unification projects were in the works, including the reunification of the genders of Taarak and Mejere, as well as the gradual restoration of the planet Earth, a task that would take years, many at least.

In the end, all that work was well worth it, when the Earth was finally restored to its original state, with thousands of populations repopulating it, new cities and nations spreading all over the globe.

But today was a day of sorrow for one blue haired woman in her fifties, dressed in black, now arriving at a big graveyard,  
where several folding chairs had been set up, before a gravesite,  
with many other people also dressed in mourning. Ahead of the blue haired woman known as Misty Cornwell, were four other women, three of them in their forties and one in her fifties. One was blue haired, like Misty, with a pointy face. The second was a redhead, with an elegant look of beauty. The third was another redhead that was as lively in spite of her mature age. And the fourth and last one was a blonde with deep brown eyes that were as brilliantly bright as crystal.

Right now, the blonde spotted Misty and said, "Misty!! You made it!!"

"You're all here!!" said Misty, who ran up to the other blue haired woman and hugged her before they cried together. Then Misty did the same thing in turn with the other women, and said, "It's been years since I last saw you, don't you think?"

"It kind of seems that way," said the pointy faced blue haired woman.  
"But I am SO HAPPY you could come...!!"

"Me too," agreed Misty. "I am sorry 'bout your father...he was a good friend to me and your mother..."

"And a good friend to me too," agreed the lively redhead. "To think we all once fought side by side against The Empire..."

Upon hearing that, the blonde said, "You all fought in the war of The Pereira Star Empire?"

"Yup," said Misty. "I was a Dread pilot just like your parents, and my good friend, Cara here."

"Yo, youse better believe it," said the livey rehead in her fifties known as Cara, in a Brooklyn accent. "It's been...40 years ago, an' it seems like it was just the other day..."

"Seems that way," agreed the 40 something redhead. "Now we're the only ones remaining to carry the torch for the Mejere pirates, for the honor of Magno and Gascogne."

"The torch," said the blonde, "hath been passed on..."

At that moment, the priest arrived, which meant the funeral was beginning; Misty, Cara and the other women, along with the rest of those invited to the funeral took their seats. After that, the priest began with, "In the name of The Father, The Son, and The Holy Ghost, amen..."

The Vandread saga continues in the new Third Stage in which we got quite a story to tell, regarding the further happenings of Hibiki & co. It beats winding up out of work, right?  
--a440.

Next: Chapter 1: An Unusual Reunion 


	2. An Unusual Reunion

Here we go! It's one year since the H-man and his Dread divas sent The Harvesters home to cry... 

CHAPTER 1: AN UNUSUAL REUNION

One year had passed when Hibiki Tokai (Japanese for Echo City), the pirates of Mejere, and much of the Mejere and Taarak fleet, as well as several other races as well, took on and wiped out the Earth Harvester fleet, resulting in the reunification of the females of Mejere and the males of Taarak. After that, a year of changes and happenings took place.

For one, the two populations formed The Taarak/Mejere Universal Council; their first matter at hand was arranging for faster and quicker means of space travel as well as trying to restore the planet Earth now that the Earth Harvest had evaporated, as it were. Such planning would take a year's time.

Even so, things weren't going so well, particularly with Hibiki and the midriff baring Dita Liebely; despite them dating for a month and a half, the Van type pilot and the Dread princess had a lover's quarrel and broke up. At least Dita finally stopped calling the hothead "Mister Alien..."

Likewise, the enigmatic blonde Dread diva known as Jura Basil Elden didn't do all that well at all herself, for despite the bevy of fellows at hand, none of them worked out well for her. In fact, lately her relationship with her fellow Dread pilot, Barnette Orangello had been off and on the rocks.

Thankfully Meia Gisborn and Misty Cornwell were living together, yet they were a bit bored with the lack of fun and activity. To them,  
it seemed that they were yearning for adventure in the hopes of dealing with the mundane days at hand.

Fortunately for Parfet Balblair and Duero Mcfile, things were a lot better with them the day they married--the first marriage twixt a female and a male in years; the Nirvana helmsman Bart Garsus, who would be regarded as a hero at the Garsus Foods Co. on Taarak, was Duero's best man while Ezra Vieil was Parfet's maid of honor. And while the wedding was the event of the century between the two planets, Dita felt chagrined at not becoming the first to marry a man...

Long after breaking up with Dita, Hibiki settled back in his apartment in Taarak's capital city, with no desire for adventure,  
now that his days of having been chased by women were gone for good. At one point, he thought of taking up smoking...until one morning came a fateful moment that would change everything once again, just as it would before a year ago, when a third class citizen stowed onboard a battle cruiser, just to steal a Vanguard to prove a boast (and that was when males and females were at war--with each other). Suddenly, and unexpectantly, Hibiki & co., as well as the rest of the galactic population, would be up against their biggest challenge, if not the most dangerous crisis, in their long history...

On that said morning, Hibiki was in his apartment, surfing the universal intergalactic internet, seeking out the classified ads in the hopes for a job. The deadweight egg shaped comic relief robot known as Pyaro was used as a computer, while the hothead typed on the robot's onboard keypad. Several USB cable trunk lines were connected to the robot and went to a Cray 1esque mainframe computer system.

"That is NOT going to work," said the whiny robot.

"Ah, get a clue, you au rotten egg!" groused Hibiki. "Any job would be better as long as there ain't no women workin' there."

"Don't tell me you haven't gotten used to women, after all we've been through so long ago?" said Pyaro.

"Just help me look for a job, you mecha moron!" barked the hothead.

"You're the boss, H.T.," said the robot glumly, while some text scrolled from top to bottom on his eyeball screen before he cheered, "Hey, check it out! It says here's a job that pays you 2440 yen an hour!"

Upon reading the ad, Hibiki said in disgust, "Pyaro! I don't know anything 'bout puttin' out oil well fires!"

"Uh...it SEEMED like an idea at the time...," stammered Pyaro while Hibiki growled in a rage and snarled, "You floating sunny side up trash can! Can't you do any better?"

"You can't blame me for tryin'," said the egg robot.

Just then, a strange thing happened--Pyaro was sparking and his face screen was covered in a green display of zeros and ones, scrolling from top to bottom, while he shook all over. After a minute of that, he stopped sparking, his face went back to normal and he resumed his good behavior.

"What's your problem?" demanded an irate Hibiki. "You've been eating robot locoweed?"

"Uhhhhh..., what hit me...?" said Pyaro groggily before he added,  
"Just a moment...I just got a download in my hard drive."

"Let's see...," muttered the hothead, who called up a list of hard drive contents, and at the list of new downloads, was a file that read,  
PROPERTY OF THE PEREIRA STAR EMPIRE. CLASSIFIED.  
"Looks like you got some kind of file," stated the Van pilot. "Let's scan it for any viruses."

So Hibiki did just that; he scanned the file, and thankfully, there were no viruses whatsoever. "No viruses at all," he said.

"Hurry up and get it outa me!" said the egg robot. "I gota feeling it may wipe me out."

"You worry too much," grumbled the hothead before he plugged a ribbon cable into one of Pyaro's input/outputs, the other end attached to an external CD ROM disc recorder; after sticking a blank disc in it, he transferred the new file on to the disc.

OK," said Hibiki, "that file on your hard drive is..."--he typed a few keys--"...gone."

"Huzzah...," muttered the robot.

At that moment, the sound of rustling papers could be heard; today's mail dropping through the letter slot in the door of Hibiki's apartment. With that in mind, the Van pilot went to and picked up the pile of mail and looked it over--some bills, an otaku mag, some ad coupons and one gilt edged envalope with a red wax seal; breaking the seal and opening the envelope, the hothead found a fancy fonted letter which read:

CONGRATULATIONS!

You're cordially invited to our first reunion of the crew of the Nirvana for a reunion party and a special surprise to celebrate the 1st anniversary of our victory over the Earth Harvest. There will be lots of food and drink and all that other stuff. So, to the crew of the Nirvana, I expect you all to show up, a week from Friday. See you there!

Magno Vivian,  
Capitan of The Nirvana.  
RSVP

Tossing the letter on a table, a disgruntled Hibiki muttered, "No thanks, with an F. There is NO WAY I am goin' to that stinkin' party an' gettin' chased by those women again!"

Just then, there was a knock on the door; the hothead opened it up--

--and Dita came inside, tackling the startled pilot, the two falling to the floor, the UFO otaku laying on top of an enraged Hibiki,  
who was shouting in protest, while Dita smothered his face with kisses.

"HEY!" roared the hothead. "GED OFFA ME! SLOP, I MEAN STOP THOSE KISSES, YOU BIG DUMMY! I'LL KICK YOUR BUTT, DITA LIEBELY!"

"Silly!" giggled Dita. "You can't get away from me, Hibiki Tokai! You're mine!"

"You hypocrite!" growled Hibiki. "I thought we broke up! I thought I told you I NEVER wanted to lay eyes on you at all, now or ever!"

"Oh, come on!" said the UFO otaku, looking pained. "Since when is it a crime to try and love again?" From there, she tickled the pilot, who writhed in Dita's hug, laughing his head off, yet shouting, "STOP IT! I CAN'T STAND TO BE TICKLED!" Enraged, he got up, throwing off Dita in the process and got up on his feet.

"Hibiki, listen," said the redhead, who also got to her feet, "why do you wanna hang me out to dry?"

"You told me you never wanted to see, nor talk to me as long as you lived!" snapped the hothead, pointing for emphisis.

"Can't a girl change her mind sometimes?" asked Dita. She went and pushed Hibiki up backward till he was backed against one of the walls, her face close to his till he could feel her breath. "Hibiki," she breathed, "you've GOT to take me back...! I'll do anything for you...!"

"Dita, you bore me!" retorted the hothead. "Anyhow, what you doin' here, on Taarak, no less?"

"Oh, that," said the UFO otaku, composing herself, stopping back and pulling out from her blazer pocket, a fancy letter just like the one the pilot got in the mail. "I just got an invite to a reunion onboard the Nirvana! It means I get to see my old friends again...uh, Hibiki,  
did YOU get your invite?"

"I did, an' I don't wanna," replied Hibiki. "I'd just as soon kiss Barnette."

"I can arrange that," said a new voice, which caused Dita and the hothead to turn their heads; there, at the open door, was Barnette,  
a copy of the ornate invite letter in her hand.

"Barnette!" chirped the UFO otaku. "What a surprise!"

"Hey, Barnette!" said the pilot. "If it ain't the ol' Dread stalwart and part time Karitoribuster!"

"Hey, poop-a-doop!" said the tough as nails green haired pilot, while she came inside and showed the two spacers her copy of the invite. "Just got my invite to the reunion on the Nirvana. You?"

"Yup!" said Dita, holding up her letter. "So did Hibiki!"

"That so, eh?" said Barnette. "I can hardly wait to see the rest of all our old friends."

Shaking his head in despair, Hibiki could only mutter, "Here we go again..."

At that moment, a new voice asked, "Is that how you Van pilots take your breaks? I'd give a thousand yen just to trade places with you."

Looking 'round, Hibiki and co. could see Misty with a letter of the invite in her hand. "Guess what?" she said. "I got an invite to the...oh, I see you all got your reunion invites."

"That we did," said Barnette. "So how goes it with you an' Meia?"

"A bit dull, but it's fun to be with the sister I cared for so much," replied the blue haired survivor. "When I told her at one point that I used to be a pilot back on Pluto, she offered to train me to be a fighter pilot like her, should the yen for adventure come back."

"As in a Dread pilot?" said Dita. "Don't tell me you got bored with your role as a radar technician."

"What do you think?" said Misty, a glint of humor in her eye.

"How?" said the hothead. "We ain't got no Dreads for you to use."

As if in reply, yet another new voice said, "Parfet's got some scraps from those Havest drones on the Nirvana; maybe during the reunion, we can put one together for you."

Sure enough, there at the open door, with--you guessed it--an invitaion in her hand, was Meia. "I see you all got your--"

"--invites," said Hibiki, glumly.

"I missed you, Meia," said Barnette. "How's it with you?"

"Only that I look foward to seeing all our old friends again on the Nirvana," replied the head Dread pilot.  
Then: "So, Dita, Hibiki, it's been a long time since I last saw you. Sorry the romance twixt you two didn't work out."

"But it'll work out once we try again and get it right" said Dita. "If Mister Ali--UH!--Hibiki can just give me another chance."

"It'll be after the next ice age when I give you another chance," scoffed the Van pilot, who added a raspberry to the redhead.

Sighing in despair, Misty asked, "Sister, you got a ressavip? It says I should wear one."

"What?" said the head pilot.

"See right here," said the survivor, pointing to her letter. "right down below Ms. Vivian's name--ressavip."

Laughing at what she saw, Meia said, "It's supposed to be RSVP, short for Respondez, Si Vous Plait--French for,  
'Respond If You Please.' Put simply, it means you write to the capitan, and tell her you're coming or not."

"Which is just what I wanna do," said the disgruntled Hibiki, "write to the old lady an' tell them I ain't comin'!"

Her pained look coming back to her face, the UFO otaku wailed, "Oh, come on, Hibiki, it'll be fun!"

"NO," replied the hothead, his left hand bunched up in a fist.

"But you might have a great time, and forget all your troubles" said Misty.

"And see all your old friends like Bart and Duero," encouraged Meia.

"Sure, sure," charged the Van pilot in his most sarcastic voice. "and chased 'round by not only Dita, but also that big butt looney tune Jura! Count me out!"

"Hibiki," said Barnette testily, "that looney tune HAPPENS to be my girlfriend--considering she's been unfaithful to me, with her chasin' all sorts of guys behind my back an' failin' at it without fail. Anyhow, if it'll make you feel any better, Jura ain't goin'; I just spoke with her before comin' here, an' she said she didn't feel like goin' to no reunion, sayin' it would make her sad."

Upon hearing that, Hibiki considered that piece of news a drop in the bucket; he paused before blurting out, "Beg me...!"

"Please, Hibiki?" said Barnette.  
"Oh, it'll be fun, oh, pleeeeeese?" said Dita.  
"PUH-LEEEEEEEEESE?" said Misty.  
"Please, Hibiki, just for me?" said Meia.

For a moment, the hothead hung his head before saying, "If it's what it takes to get you jokers off my back, I say, ressavip!"

"It's RSVP," corrected Dita. "So do everyone a favor an' go ressvip yourself to the capitan an' tell her you're comin', OK?"

"What have I got to lose--'cept maybe my self respect?" muttered the Van pilot, while he went to the table, picked up his invite and added, "Why do I have the feeling I am goin' to live to regret it?"

For Hibiki Tokai, Meia Gisborn, Dita Liebely, Misty Cornwell and Barnette Orangello, the new adventure was just beginning...

Why do I have the feeling a big surprise is in the works at the Nirvana reunion? Two, in fact. But then, that is what made Vandread famous --a440.

Next: Chapter 2: Together Again.


	3. Together Again

Does Jura truly love Barnette or is that just a cover up for the fact she secretly loves Hibiki--and not just for a baby maker? 

CHAPTER 2: TOGETHER AGAIN

Upon arriving at one of the airstation platforms, Hibiki could see the small shuttlecraft bound for the Nirvana, and the man trapped in a woman's body known as B. C. standing near it. Lifting up a hand,he called out (with his voice disguiser turned off), "Hibiki! You made it!"

"Seems that way," replied the hothead in a bored way.

"Already I can tell you're disillusioned," said the first mate. "Whatever you wish to believe it or not, you're in good company."

"How's that?" asked the Van pilot.

"When the Taarak goverment chose me," said B. C, "to be surgically changed into a woman to spy on the pirates, they had no idea the process was irreversable. So, though I was pardoned, the price I paid was high...so I can never again, literally be the man I once was, and must exist with such a secret curse..."

"Sorry to hear that...," muttered the hothead.

"Don't be sorry," assured the first mate. "I don't mind living the way I am--I, since I was born, had a rough life. It's, the way I see it, part of my fate, a form of penance for whatever sins I may had committed, maybe? In any case, you must never tell the captain I said that."

"Your secret's safe with me," assured the Van pilot.

At that moment, Bart came up, calling out, "Hey! Hibiki! B. C! Long time no see...er, B. C., sorry I mistook you for a real woman long ago..."

"It's an honest mistake," said B. C. "I guess I fooled you all too well, didn't I? Tell you what--I hope you do meet a real woman of your own one day, and if you two get married, the captain and me will arrange it onboard the Nirvana."

"Well...," stammered the bald navigator, "thanks..."

At that moment, Parfet Balblair and Duero Mcfile, showed up, the former calling out, "Hey, guys!", and the latter saying, "So it seems the two most worthy bachelors remain bachelors, after one year ago."

"Hey, doc, lay off the wisecracks, huh?" said Hibiki. "I ONLY went because Dita pestered my BUT-TOCKS into goin'. That and the fact that love crazy Jura ain't comin' to the reunion."

"Jura's not coming?" said B. C. "How sad, But you shouldn't make fun of her--she's Meia's right hand woman in the Dread squadron, you know."

"I was looking foward to seeing her again," said Parfet glumly. "Oh, well, at least, I'll get to meet Ezra and Rebecca, Celtic and the rest."

"I would've liked to have met her," said Duero. "I had great news to tell her--that despite the injury she got a year ago with that one Harvester ship that Gascogne captured, well...it seems Jura can STILL have a baby."

"That would've been good news for her," agreed Bart, "but bad news for the guy that comes her way. Oh, well."

"Oh well is right," said B. C. "Shalt we go?"

And so, Hibiki, Pyaro, Duero, Parfet, B. C. and Bart boarded the shuttle, and with the Nirvana's first mate piloting, took off for the skies, to where the Nirvana was in Taarak orbit.

From the start, Hibiki and the group, upon boarding the Pyxis generated ship, were treated to the old familiar haunts--the Dreads and the yellow Vanguard that the hothead once called 'his partner', to the old staterooms they had which were once jail cells, to the park section below the bridge, where the party would take place, to the old canteen section. Overall, not much had changed

Right now, upon arriving, the old skipper known as Magno Vivian was the first to greet the Van pilot when he showed up. "Hibiki!" she cheered. "I didn't think I'd see you again" before she swept up the hothead and kissed his cheek.

"Thanks a heap, old lady," muttered Hibiki.

"Same old Hibiki Tokai, eh?" said the captain. "And how you doin', Bart? You still lookin' for love?"

"Good guess, mam'm," said the bald navigator. "B. C. said that if I found the woman for me, you and her would arrange a wedding here."

"Well...," said Magno thoughtfully. "I'd be honored, to say the least. Turning to Duero, she added, "Well, Duero, I hear married life seems to fit you and Parfet well."

"It wasn't easy...," said the medic. "One of the benefits is that if my medical equipment breaks down, Parfet'll waste no time in fixing it in record time."

"And," said Parfet, "I don't have to go as far for medical treatment."

That was when, one by one, in turn, Dita, Meia, Misty and Barnette showed up.

"Yay, Mister--I mean, Hibiki! You came!" chirped Dita.

"Good for you! Now you're showing sense!" said Meia.

"All hail our Lord Prince!" cheered Misty.

"Hey, poop-a-doop! Thanks for comin'!" stated Barnette.

"I've--uh, we all missed you girls," said the captain. "You were the pride of the Dread team."

"If not the backbone," agreed B. C. "You and Jura, as well..."

"Don't remind me," said the hothead, a bit testily.

It was then that the voice of officer Gascogne Rheingou took everyone by surprise, saying, "What's wrong with Jura? And how many times must I tell you--smile, smile, smile!" After that, she greeted the group, before turning to the Van pilot and--to the surprise of all--tackled Hibiki with a bear hug, and kissed his cheek, booming, "How's my fave poker partner doin'?"

"Like I wanna take up smoking!" groused the hothead. "What am I, a teddy bear? All I remember is that I could never beat you at poker!"

"Hey, it's only a game," said the supply shop leader. "Do the words 'It's not how you win or lose, but how you play the game' mean anything to you? It means that games were played only for fun, not played to win."

"That is 70,000 bunk.," bearated the Van pilot. "On Taarak, we were born to believe that winnin' was the only thing."

"That figures, Mister Junk Dealer Tokai," said Gascogne.

"JUNK DEALER?" blurted Hibiki. "Why am I a junk dealer?"

"Because you're always picking scraps," replied the supply shop leader, with a laugh--a laugh that the others followed suit, as did the pirate nurse with the frog puppet known as Paiway Underberg. And even now, upon her arrival, she piped, "Huzzah and hooray! Hibiki Tokai is back today!" before using her voice for her puppet: "All of you cheer, the H-man is here, ribbit!"

Shaking her head, a bemused Barnette said, "And I thought you gave up such immature habits."

"Some old habits," defended the pirate nurse, "can be hard to break."

No sooner had Paiway said those words, Hibiki chanced to glance over Barnette's shoulder--

--and spot, coming on, into his sights, making her way through the crowd, a woman with long blonde hair, in a long dress. A black dress! Jura! In that instant, the hothead paled, gasping out in fright.

"What's wrong, Hibiki?" asked Barnette. "You look pale as a ghost."

"J-J-J-J-J-J-Jura...!" stuttered the Van pilot. "Lemme outa here!"

Without waiting for anything else, to the surprise of all gathered, Hibiki ducked under one of the tables that had food and drinks set out for the celebration, 0.7 seconds before Jura arrived on the scene.

"BARNETTE!" squealed the blonde diva. "I missed you!" From there,  
she hugged her partner hard and smothered her with kisses, before doing the same to in turn, Duero, Parfet, Paiway, Bart, Misty, Meia and Dita, who recoiled in fright, shock and surprise, much the delight of Hibiki, who was under the table, hidden by the tablecloth and thinking, "Better her than me."

"Jura," said Barnette, "I thought you weren't comin' to the reunion, sayin' it would make you sad, that you didn't feel like partying. What made you change your mind?"

"I got to thinking," replied Jura somberly, "that I felt kind of selfish for not goin', and that was at a time when I had the blues, so I figured that comin' here would help me forget my troubles."

"Like I said," stated Meia, "that is showing sense. You were our finest Dread pilot that knew how to mix up glamour with taking out those Harvesters."

"It's been so mundane without you, Jura," said Magno. "For that matter...it's been so quiet..."

"So how does it feel to here again, after one year ago," asked B. C.

"As if time stood still," said the diva. "Lookin' back when we fixed the Harvest's wagon, that gave me the chance to grow up." After a pause, she added, "Where's Hibiki? Ithought he was with you just now."

"Uh, I think he had to head for the toilet," said Bart, sounding a bit nervous.

"Oh?" quiried Jura.

"I know where Hibiki is," said Paiway, using her frog puppet. "He's under the table here, ribbit."

"He is, eh?" said the diva, before she, to the chagrin of Dita and Barnette, stepped up to the table and chirped, "Hibiki? It's me,  
Jura! Come on out and meet your old friend, who's intent on sharing her hugs an' kisses with you!"

So saying, Jura pulled the tablecloth and looked under the table, only to discover there was no one there. "Paiway,"  
she said in an edgy way, "you said he was under the table."

"I did!" said the nurse fearfully. "I was sure of it!"

Not too far away from that, peering 'round the entrance to the park section, Hibiki was livid over Paiway's tattling to the blonde diva, grumbling, "Paiway, you stool pigeon!" before hightailing it down the hall.

Heading for the canteen section, the hothead headed for the nearby food counters, heaped with sumptous food--until he heard Jura call out, "Hibiki? Hibiki? You in there?"

For a moment, the Van pilot froze in fear, then ducked under one of the tables before the blonde entered, calling out,  
"Oh, come on, don't be that way! Hibiki? Hibiki, please!"

Tensing in fear, Hibiki waited under the table, sweating bullets, yet preparing for the worst, he peered out;  
as soon as Jura turned to the food counter, he crawled out and made a beeline for the door.

Entering the old male only staterooms (which he shared with Duero and Bart), that had once been jail cells, the Van pilot ran inside his own--when he heard the clatter of wheels. Taking no chances, he ducked under the bed, just as Jura came in, wheeling in a cart, loaded with tasteful food.

"Hibiki?" she called. "I got something for you. Hibiki." A pause, then, she said, "Since there's no one here, I guess I got to bring all that food back where it came from."

Instantly, Hibiki saw through the ploy--that the blonde diva was trying to lure the hothead out with food. Fuming over Jura resorting to such a dirty trick, he chanced to spot, near his head, a burnt out light bulb. With an idea in mind,he grabbed the bulb, and threw it at a distant wall, and the bulb broke.

Upon hearing the bulb break, the diva turned to the sound, and said, "Aha!" before abandoning the cart and ran to the sound of the broken bulb; Hibiki came out from the bed and grabbed the cart, rolling it out into the hallway, food and all, just before he heard Jura call out, "HEY! Come back here!"

Hiding out in one of the Nirvana's vast storage bays, the Van pilot had finished up the last of the food on the cart he had taken from the blonde diva, marveling at their taste; no doubt, all that had been cooked by Jura. Next to Dita, Misty, Barnette, and maybe Meia, that diva had the knack--that is, if she wasn't so love crazy, despite her devotion to the said Barnette. One thing was for sure: despite the circumstances at hand, coming to the reunion was worth the tastiest food he had eaten in a week. But the fun didn't last long, for as before, the hothead heard Jura call, "Hibiki? I know you're in here! Come on, don't be stuck up, not even to an old friend like me!"

Getting up, Hibiki darted across the high shelves of supplies and ran into a deep dark shadowy niche, hidden in the shadows, in the hopes the blonde pilot would think he wasn't there. No such luck; Jura had found the niche and said, "I know you're in there--I can see your beady eyes shining in the dark." After a pause, she added, "OK, I am comin' in to get you and squeeze you an' cover your face with--" here, she smacked her mouth a few times,"--sweetie kisses."

So saying, the diva took one step into the niche--and that was when the Van pilot bellowed out with a big,  
deep roar: "BL-A-A-A-A-A-A-A!"

Upon hearing that, Jura, thinking what she heard was the roar of some wild beast, screamed and ran out, into the hallway. After waiting a minute to be sure, the hothead came out from the niche and exited the bay, and down the hall.

Unfortunately for Hibiki, he had committed a critical miscalculation--for he hadn't reckoned on all that running, combined with all that food the blonde pilot had made, so by the time he reached the hangar, and the safety of his Vanguard, he was crawling and panting.  
Pausing to rest at the foot of the stairs that went up to the platform near the entrance of his partner, he gasped, "Dita Liebely, why didn't you stop callin' me Mister Alien sooner?" After resting for a second, the hothead crawled up the stairs, adding, "Misty Cornwell, why did it have to be me that was the first to greet you when you came out from that freezer pod?" Then upon reaching the top of the stairs, and on to the platform facing his Van, his head down, the Van pilot panted, "Jura Basil Elden, CAN'T you just leave me alone?"

Suddenly, as if in reply, Hibiki was jolted out from his reverie when he heard the diva's voice say: "No. I can't."

Upon hearing that, the Van pilot looked up--

--and saw Jura standing next to his Vanguard, a grin on her face, as she lifted up a hand for a wave, and said in a coquette like way,  
"Toodle--oo, Hibiki."

"Oh---------NO...!" groaned the hothead, who was worn out and unable to run. Soon after that, he fainted.

"Hibiki? Hibiki, please, open your eyes!"

Thus spoke Jura, who was cradling Hibiki, gently shaking the Van pilot; at one point, he murmured, "I don't wanna go to school, Gramps."

"Hibiki?" said the diva in fear. "It's me, Jura!"

"Duh, tell me 'bout the rabbits, George," said the delerious hothead.

Frustrated over that, the blonde muttered, "Desperate times call for desperate actions." Taking a big breath, she bellowed right in his face: "RISE AND SHINE!"

Instanly, Hibiki jumped up, squawking in fright, just as Jura threw herself at the hothead, pulling the Van pilot in a squeeze before saying, "WHOO-HOO! You're awake! Oh, I missed you so much!"

With that, the blonde diva went ultra wild with kissing into submission, one worn out Hibiki Tokai, the Dread pilot smooching all over his face and mouth.

What would Barnette say to that? She'd kick Jura's keister for that! And when does their new adventure begin. Let's hope it's in the 3rd chapter, which it is.

--a440.

Next: Chapter 3: Black Friday


	4. Black Friday

Like 'da old man said, "Jura is a fictional character! No reason to get all fussy over a few lines of ink and a voice that belongs to someone else." But then, I didn't believe in the old man anyway. Oh, I call the latest chapter, Black Friday since that is the day the Nirvana reunion is taking place. 

Oh-oh--here comes trouble! It's Rabat, The Rat Bastard! Watch out, he's comin'!

CHAPTER 3: BLACK FRIDAY

For old times' sake, Ezra Viel, Rebecca her friend, Amarone Slaintheav, Belvedere Coco and Celtic Midori were up in the empty bridge, looking all 'round, and checking out their old stations where they used to work at.

"It doesn't seem a year ago," said Ezra, "that we all once worked here, serving under Capitane Magno."

"Like a trip to the past...," said Belvedere. "Who was it that said you can't go home again?"

"I don't know...," said Amarone. "Remember back when Celtic here would dress up in that bear outfit before poor Hibiki saw her in her undies with the bear print?"

"Don't remind me," said Celtic, a bit uneasily. "I can't blame the poor guy for taking a bad fall, but where he landed--THAT was an unkind cut. After that, I took to wearing different outfits." From the she looked down at her sailor schoogirl outfit, a la Sailor Moon before adding, "But then, the inside of that bear suit was hotter than July--UGH! So I guess Hibiki's goof up was my wake up call...sorry it took me so long to come to terms with that..."

"Hey, better late than never," said Rebecca. "Well, once the reunion finishes, Ezra and me can retire in peace and settle down with our daughter. No 'mo enemy mecha, nor any Harvesters from Earth, nor any 'mo people in danger--never again."

"Agreed," said Ezra. "but who can say a similar crisis couldn't occur again? If not from the remains of The Harvesters, then maybe a new enemy, intent on picking up where The Harvest left off."

Shuddering, Belvedere said, "No hints, OK?"

"That can't happen here," said Celtic. "Without their leader, and their Red Pyxis, it's doubtful those jokers can make a comeback. So, what chuu plannin' doin' with your pension funds? I wanna try my hand at swimwear modeling."

"Me an' Rebecca," replied Ezra, "we're spoken for, an' yet, we've been toyin' with the idea of settin' up a roadhouse in Mejere's capital city."

"And," said Rebecca, "hopefully set up a cosplay exhibition on the side. What of the rest of you?"

"Maybe just work in a car wash by day," replied Amarone, "an' be a pole dancer by night."

"Y' got to be careful in that line of work," cautioned Belvedere. "A lot of kooks work in that line, along with druggies as well. Me, I'd open up a candy store an' give Mejere's children their worth in sweets up the wazoo."

"What a bunch of pigs," grumbled Celtic. "Boy I could just hear them after they're done stuffin' themselves: 'Oh, I am sick! Oh, my poor stomach!' Then they'd be earmarked for the emergency room...!"

At that moment, a frantic beeping sound could be heard, and out of habit, Belvedere manned her station, and checked onscreen readouts before saying, "We've got some kind of spacecraft at 7 GR, drifting near the Nirvana...only it seems there's no sign of engine activity, no sign of life, none..."

"Let's call the captain," said Ezra.

Down in the bowels of the hangar, an enraged Hibiki Tokai was getting his strength back from his pent up fury when it came to trying to break free from a kiss crazy Jura Basil Elden, who even now was smothering the luckless hothead with kisses while trying to tickle the said Van pilot just as Dita had done; it was at that point that the offspring of Lord Granpa and Lady Granma tried to push the diva away, fought and screamed, "JURA! STOP!"

"Stop it, Hibiki!" barked the blonde grimly. "Don't fight it! What's the matter with you? Can't I at least kiss you for old time's sake?"

"Not when you're in love with someone else!" snarled Hibiki. "You're only here to get a baby with me! For that matter, you only want me for a steppin' stone for your own greedy gains! I knew you hadn't changed! I knew you hadn't learned your lesson!"

"Listen," stated Jura, "just because I love Barnette, don't mean I can't love, let alone kiss other people. You saw me kiss not only Barnette, but also Dita, Meia and the rest there. Besides, like Paiway said, some old habits can be hard to break. For that matter,  
to me, YOU'RE a hard habit to break. So what's the big deal?"

The hothead responed with a rude raspberry, but even so, the Dread pilot didn't let go of the Van pilot, saying, "The trouble with you is, you don't know what love is."

"ME?" grumbled Hibiki. "The way I see it, love sucks!"

"No wonder you and Dita broke up," said the diva. "But then, you had a LOT of other reasons why you two parted ways. One of these days, I may prove to you that love doesn't suck all the time"

"Well I don't wanna be proved!" snorted the hothead. From there, he tried to break free, to the blonde's annoyance.

"I've had it with tryin' to steal the bases," said Jura. "Time to steal home! So fear not--Nurse Jura's here to make it all better..."

With that in mind, the diva cupped the Van pilot's face with each hand, muttered, "Forgive me, Barnette," and kissed full on the mouth, all that taking Hibiki by surprise.

At first, the hothead vehemently protested, despite his mouth covered by the blonde's lusterous mouth, trying to beat his fists against the diva, in the hopes of pushing her away, until he fell passive, going limp while getting kissed thoroughly by Jura, who, to his surprise, turned out to be a fantastic kisser. In fact, he had gotten way too many kisses, first from Dita, then Misty, but they were just minor pecks compared to what he was now experiencing--for that matter, those two had no idea when it came to kissing someone on the mouth, which was, beyond any doubt, a real, REAL kiss. Though it was Misty that was the first to do just that to Hibiki, it was sudden and unexpected, to the point that he had little time to experience what he was feeling right now with the blonde, which, by the by, was a whole new sensation, so it was no wonder the Van pilot not only wrapped his arms 'round the Dread pilot's waist and held her, but also took to closing his eyes and kissing along with her. If that was what males and females did, despite the rumors he had heard on Taarak on women eating their male counterparts with a kiss, then...  
One thing was for sure--a kiss like that had the hothead drifting in a calming state of mind, a cocoon of bliss, in which time stood still. And it was a kiss he couldn't get enough of, loving it, wanting more of, to forget everything but the loving within. But the irony was, that particular kiss WAS coming from, of all people, a stuck up crazy blonde diva named Jura.

At one point, Hibiki was (pleasantly) surprised when Jura stuck her tongue down his mouth for a french kiss; soon it turned intense with their tongues intertwining, the two spacers holding each other close as they could get, till they broke off the kiss, blushing, sweating, with their hearts pounding--and that was when they heard the voice of Gascogne say, "Hey--get a room, you two," followed by a laugh.

Turning, Jura and Hibiki could see the supply shop leader standing a few yards from the Vanguard platform, a smirk on her face.

"Gasco!" said the diva.

"How long were you standin' here?" said the hothead.

"Just a few seconds," replied Gascogne, who turned to the blonde and added, "And by the by, it's GASCOGNE! Got it?"

Sighing, the Dread pilot muttered, "Whatever..."

"Hibiki," asked the supply shop leader, "if you and Jura get married, will you two settle down in a Spanish tile roofed stucco house with a white picket fence?"

"So funny I forgot to laugh...," grumbled the Van pilot.

Suddenly, the voice of B.C. came on the PA system: "Attention, all Dread team members, report to the bridge, ASAP! Priority red!"

"How's that for an interrupted holiday?" growled Hibiki.

"Not those Harvester bastards again!" moaned Jura.

"Come on, Leetle Miz Blondie an' Goats Head Soup," said Gascogne, "let's hurry over an' prepare for the worst."

Following the supply shop leader, the Van pilot and the blonde hightailed it down the hall.

For Hibiki Tokai, preparing for the worst was justified, for when he, Jura and Gascogne arrived, they saw Magno, B.C., Duero, Parfet, Bart, Dita, Meia, Barnette and Misty there--and there, on the projected digital telescreen, was Rabat's ship, drifting listlessly out in space.

"That Rat Bastard!" snarled the hothead. "What's HE doin' HERE?" To ruin our party with his 'ol con-phew tatics?"

"He conned me out of a new engine drive!" said Parfet.

"He gave to me an' the other gals tacky cheap makeup an' jewels!" said Dita.

"He beat up poor Hibiki!" said Jura.

"He was a traitor to the galaxy an' a vassal to The Harvesters!" said Meia.

"An' worst of all, his stinky monkey Utan wore a stinky yellow onesie as well!" said Misty.

"Why would ol' R.abat be comin' here, of all times?" said Barnette.

"Let's just see what ol' Rat Bastard wants in the first place," declared Magno. "Open up a hailing channel."

"It's open," said Ezra.

Standing up (using her stick), the captain spoke in her most demanding manner, "Captain Magno Vivian, to Rabat The Rat Bastard. Reply now! State your reason for coming here!"

No answer.

"Rabat!" said Magno. "Reply now. Why did you come here? To give me and the others here a lot of grief?"

Still no reply.

"That bullheaded eel in the kelp idiot...!" muttered B.C. "No doubt stubborn to the end!"

"That is just what I say!" agreed Hibiki. "He is the perfect example of how a loser lives!"

"Rabat!" called the captain. "Can you hear me? Reply, NOW!"

When no reply was forthcoming, Magno turned to B.C. and said, "Something's not right. Normally, he'd be onscreen bragging with his big fat mouth--unless his transmitter could be faulty."

"Or he could be playing the waiting game," said the first mate. "Then, when the time was right, he'd spring his trap."

"You got that right," said the hothead darkly. "Just once, I wish we could kick that Rat Bastard's beeg faat BUT-TOCKS!"

"And we will," said Magno with trepidation. Turning to Gascogne, she spoke, "Miss Gasco, take the Dread team, along with Misty, Duero and Pafet with you for a bording team to infiltrate Rabat's ship once we link it up with the Nirvana via docking vestibule No.  
14."

"Safe an' sound," said the supply shop leader.

Turning to Bart, the captain said, "I hope you didn't lose you piloting skills, on account of your said skills is crucial in bringing the Nirvana up and over Rabat's ship so we can dock with it."

"Why not...?" said the bald bishounen before he stepped up to the helm station and jumped into it; afterwards, a second telescreen came on, depicting a bare Bart in his chamber saying, "All set."

"Carry on, then," said Magno.

"Roger that," came the reply before Bart easily piloted the Nirvana up and over Rabat's ship before coming to a stop. After that, a bellows pipe like tube came down from the pirate ship, linking up with the airlock hatch of Rabat's ship.

"Vestibule secure," said Celtic. "All pressures equalized."

"Well done," said the captain before turing to Gascogne and said, "Get in there and you jokers confront and bring that Rat Bastard to justice--so we can drop his sorry hide back in his rat trap where he belongs."

"And at the same time," said the supply shop leader, "make a monkey out of that stinky Utan."

"Let's go!" said Hibiki. "I wanna swat rat butt!"

"Take a number, Mister Alien--UH!--I mean, Hibiki," said Dita.

With Gascogne leading, the group climbed down the vestibule pipe till they were at the entry hatch; after Parfet picked its lock, it opened, and soon they were inside--only to discover the interior was a total shambles, torn wiring, fallen support beams and holes blasted through walls. It was as if a platoon of Vikings had torn through here on a rampage without mercy.

"What a mess!" said Parfet. "Is that how Rabat lives? As a slob?"

"It looks like a big fat tornado came through here," said Barnette. "An' somehow I don't think all that mess WAS Rabat's doin'. I'd say SOMEONE with a vendetta did all that."

"But who?" asked Meia.

It was at that point that the group stopped before the door to the bridge which had already been blasted open--

--and inside was the most gristly surprise that took the group by surprise so much, it made them sick to their stomachs.

"YAR-R-R-R-R-G-H!" gasped Hibiki.

"Oh no! Oh no-o-o! " blurted Dita.

"BLA-A-A-A! " said Jura.

"YARRRRRRRRRRRGH-H-H! " said Meia

"ROT-TEN!" said Misty.

YUCC!" said Barnette.

"UGGGGGGHHHH!" said Gascogne.

"I think I am goin' to be sick!"! said Parfet.

"DITTO!" said Duero.

And no wonder. For laying in a pool of blood, in the center of the bridge floor, a fist sized hole torn through his upper torso, his eyes frozen in shock, was the con man, trader and vassal to The Earth Harvesters known as Rabat, aka The Rat Bastard, dead. Nearby, in the corner lay the bloody, exploded body of the monkey known as Utan, also dead, her trademark onesie outfit laying nearby,  
in shreds. It was as if foul play had been in the works, even worse than the time The Harvesters had massacred the Melanus population.

As soon as he got his senses back, Duero carefully made his way to the dead con man, and after making several checks, said half trance like and half darkly, "He's dead...The Rat Bastard Rabat is dead...!"

"Serves him right!" declared Hibiki. "I hope he burns in hell for all the crummy stuff he did!"

"Ditto fot that stinkin' Utan, for her monkey business!" agreed Barnette. "Score one for divine retribution on those two!"

"No wonder there was no reply...," said Meia.

The next few minutes were spent with Parfet crossing the bridge floor and searching under the control consoles, saying, "Whoever it was that rubbed out Rabat tore all the electrical wiring, trunk lines, terminals and controls. Oh wait--here it is--the flight recorder. At least it seems to be in fine condition"

"I,ll go get some body bags for our latest victims," said the Taarak medic, who exited the bridge.

"But who or what could've done all that to Rabat?" asked Dita. "An' why?"

"Who cares?" said Misty. "It's the end of the only ally the now defunct Harvest had!"

"Maybe he had a run in with one of the syndicates," said Meia, "and picked a bad time to tell them to shove it up their noses."

"Which one?" said Hibiki. "The Taarak Yakuza, The Mejere Mafia or all of the above?"

"It looks like The Harvesters did that," said Jura, a bit shakily. "See the way they--UGH--tore Rabat's heart? Given the fact he was in cahoots with them, it's no hype they turned on him for revenge."

Gascogne, who had been examing burnt marks all over the damaged places, and the few blood puddles here and there, had been muttering, "No...it couldn't be...", had now turned to the diva and said, "Somehow, I don't think so, though it LOOKS LIKE they did it."

"What makes you so sure?" said Barnette. "You saw the way Rabat was dispatched--they've needed parts of his body for their pseudo Frankenstein creations. See the blast points where all the energy blasts did here and there?"

"I see them," replied Gascogne," and they're way too accurate for The Harvesters. Look at the precision in how the firepower was applied...only one thing I know could've done such precise expertise..."

At that moment, the supply shop leader's communicator came on with B. C. saying, "Gascogne, do you copy?"

"I read you, mam'm," replied Gascogne. "It seems we found out the fate of one Rabat, The Rat Bastard,  
who, along with Utan, was just found dead."

In the Nirvana bridge, Magno, upon hearing the news, gasped, "DEAD? Switch on your comm's onboard cam, so we can see."

To the shock of everyone on the bridge, a telescreen was projected, showing the interior ruins of the bridge for the late con man's ship, along with the bloodied carnage as well.

"What in Taarak...?" said B. C.

"How'd THAT happen?" gasped the captain. "It looks like bunch of vigilantes struck!"

"It seems that way," said the supply shop leader. "and I believe I MAY know who came here and did such dirty work...I didn't think they'd be here, after so many years...until now."

"Meaning?" asked B.C.

"Meaning," said Gascogne, half uneasy and half grim,with the manner of a mouse chosen to bell the cat, "that it's the work of my sworn nemesis, who also happenes to be an inventor, scientist, revolutionary and part time witch--Brittany Pereira, the founder and empress of The Pereira Star Empire, an all female group of criminals, terrorists and other miscreant gals--who no doubt also had a hand in trashing the ship!"

Upon hearing such a revelation from the card playing supply shop leader, Jura paled and Misty shuddered just as Parfet, the flight recorder in hand, spoke up,"Captain, sorry to interrupt, but I just found the flight recorder here. When we get back to the Nirvana, I'll patch it into our computers and maybe we can learn what happened that led up to the murders."

"You did well," said Magno. To the supply shop leader, she added, "Miss Gascogne, you and rest come back to the Nirvana as soon as you finish up."

"Understood," said Gascogne. "It seems me and the Empress Brittany an' me got some old scores to settle, an' what we just saw was a greeting card. An' like it or not, Taarak, Mejere, an' the rest of the galaxy is involved..."

Houston, we have a problem--and it seems that (a) Rabat is murdered and whoever did the dirty work also dispatched the smelly ol' ape, aka Utan, thus putting an end to her monkeyshines, and (b) a new enemy, even worse than The Harvesters just stepped in, oh, and (c), an old war buddy turned evil wiccan from Gasco--I mean Gascogne's--past crawled out from the woodwork. I sure hope we learn somethin' from all that. We hope. It's a crazy world out there, for sure...you with me so far?

--a440.

Next: Chapter 4: Bravery Is For Fools.


	5. Bravery Is For Fools

Between the now defunct Harvesters and the new threat known as The Pereira Star Empire (PSE), there ain't no way of knowin' which is worse. And what's even worse then those two? Bad anime ratings!! And that would put Hibiki & co. out of work!! Anyhow, let's carry on...

CHAPTER 4: BRAVERY IS FOR FOOLS

Long after Duero had collected the corpses in body bags, long after the Taarak Fleet Guard had taken Rabat's ship in tow and transported it for storage, much of group had arrived at the Nirvana bridge. Right now, Parfet had connected Rabat's flight recorder to some USB and RS 232 trunk lines to the Nirvana's computer network and was using a keyboard to enter the decryption sequence.

"Ready," she said to Magno.

"Onscreen," said the captain. "And channel it to the ship's video network so all may see."

"Roger that," replied the head engineer.

All over the Nirvana, vid screens came to life for everyone when the recorded video came on, showing the inside the bridge of Rabat's ship, the con man talking with Utan, saying, "Well,  
it's off to Taarak to pay a visit to 'ol Hibiki, the Echo City an' con the big dummy outa that top secret computer file I sent over to that egg shaped scrap heap known as Pyaro. Then we'll head to Mejere and woo that group of women for the Pyramid Of Titan map I mailed to.  
An', if all goes well, we'll be on easy street."

Utan jumped up an grunted in anticipation.

"Robber...!!" hissed Dita.

"Dirty Rat Bastard...!!" grumbled Misty.

"Two bit bunco swine...!!" said Barnette.

"Ditto...!!" said Hibiki.

Just then, Utan was jumping up and down, shrieking wildy and Rabat said, "The game is afoot,  
girlie. Seems we got visitors--"

THUMP!!

"Now THAT is a BIG ship!!" said the con man. "Well, if I can use my easy expertise in talkin' my way outa whoever's piloting that huge ship, we're outa here." Then when the smelly monkey in the yellow onesie howled a few short howls, Rabat replied, "Nonsense!! Bravery is for fools. They don't know my martial arts than they would know The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get."

For a moment, the interior of the con man's ship was shaken, hit and buffeted as if it were under some kind of heavy siege. Try as they might, even when Rabat and Utan used the ship's heavy guns, they couldn't shake off the unseen juggernaut that was bearing down on them--till, with a big KAWAMMMMM!!!! the ship shook hard--and all operations stopped. Needless to say, Utan panicked, lurching all over the place and howling like no tomorrow.

"Stop yappin', Utan!!" said Rabat. "I know we're trapped in their tractor beam!! All we got to do is--"

WUMP!!

"Oh, great, they've opened our hatch!!" groaned the con man.

Running to the main entrance door, he slammed its heavy duty magna steel door before he and Utan took cover behind a crate; a few minutes later, there were expolsion noises, distant female voices--one of them with a thick British accent--scraping steel, crashing sounds...then with a flash of green light and firpower salvo noises, the big heavy door blew open, and in stepped a platoon of bishoujo looking women, some stoic, some bored and some worried, in black judge like robes, patterned after the robes worn by The Robotech Masters, but with green triangle decor trim on it, with green diamond like patterns, like the stripes and medals used on the American military type uniforms and a prominent emblem on the upper right hand emblem of three green triangles (one atop the two). Each of those black robed women also had two four foot long katana type swords belted to their waists, with a five foot long crossbow like rifle, each with a green crystalline diamond shaped crystal affixed to the rifle gun muzzle. For Rabat, the fact the the newcomers were women incited an inspiration. of conning them for his life.

When those women came in to view, much of the Nirvana crew were in surprise, but to Gascogne, Jura and Misty, they froze in shock, as if they had seen someone dead in a local morgue. In fact, it was the supply shop head that muttered, "The Pereira Star Empire...!! I thought so...!!"

On the screen, Rabat stepped foward with the same cofidence and the same trepidation he used when conning prople--until one of the women, a long tressed redhead aimed her rifle at the con man barked, "Stay back, lest we phaserbolt you to Kingdom Come!!"

"Hey, hey," said the con man cooly and unfazed. "Take it easy, I am a man of unique taste and riches, makeup, anything you want that I can give you, And all at a low cost, if you just 'low me to live...OK?"

"Listen here," said a blonde officer icily, "don't you know The Pereira Star Empire don't give?  
We take, but we don't give. At all...well, save for one thing--DEATH. And people like you stain our reputation."

"Hey, calm down," said Rabat, who, for the first time was starting to get nervous, aware that these women--50 of them--were not only tough, but were more evil than thou, their weapons all aimed at the con man and Utan. And right now, the last he wanted was admit he would be bested by women like these, and he dreaded the fact he might be no match for them, despite his dirty tricks.  
Yet he had to try; with that in mind, he took out from his pocket, a pigeonblood red ruby the size of a baseball and held it out to the Imperial troops to see.

"Now listen," began Rabat in his best cajoling sales pitch, "if you spare me, I might give to you,  
a genuine ruby I just bought from a merchant man recently--it's worth 5000 yen, which could make you rich to say the least."

"Get that piece of glass costume jewlery outa here!!" snarled a brunette trooper, who took a potshot with her crossbow phaser, its blast shattering the so called ruby, but not Rabat's hand;  
he had pulled it away in time before the phaser bolt had a chance to cauterize it.

Chagrined at what had just happened, the con man muttered, "A simple 'no thanks' would've helped..."

"You're in trouble and you know it, so just stay where you're at an' make it easy on yourself," said the long tressed redhead.

Unable to stand it, Rabat demanded hotly, "On whose authority?"

"On mine, Rabat The Rat Bastard," coldly replied the British voice the con man had heard before; soon the source of the voice stepped in, in a robe and decor similar to the others, only her diamond decor patterns were silver. She too, was a redhead, with bold brown eyes that bore into anyone, a pendant with two green diamond icons flanking a larger green diamond logo round her neck. Her hair, which was lighter than Dita's was in seven braids, and in terms of age, she seemed to be that of Jura's, standing at five foot twelve. And she too, carried her own share of weapons just like the others. She stood, staring at the con man, like a mother spotting her child's hand in the cookie jar.

In fact, upon seeing the new woman, Gascogne, for the first time said uneasily, "I knew it...it's Brittany Pereira...!!"

Jura and Misty, on the other hand, shuddered, and stepped back in fright, frozen like zombies, while all the others stared in surprise, shock and who knows what else at the latest discovery.

Undaunted by the steely eyed Empress of The Pereira Star Empire (PSE), the cocky con man boldly approached her and said, "Well, so we meet, Ms. Brittany Pereira. Listen, I was on my way to see you, but I kinda got a bit side tracked on the way."

"Don't give me any of that B.S.," said Brittany icily, her accent thick. "You're a pain in the bum when it comes to stealin' the computerized blueprints to The Apocalypse Engine, along with the map of The Pyramid Of Titan--THAT...is inexcusable!! The fact that you conned many a native here and there,  
it's givin' me and my Empire an bad name. So out with it!! Where's the blueprint and the map? 'Fess up!!"

Spurred by Rabat's plight, Utan made the mistake of shrieking and charging towards the Empress, who stuck out one hand, grabbed the front of the monkey's smelly onesie, and tore it off in shreds, along with the ape's hair, casing the said monkey to howl with pain.

"PEEEEEEEEEEEEEE--UU!!" groused the PSE ruler. "You an' that onesie both stink!!" Next time, shower with hot water and sterile washing fluid!!"

Enraged, Utan tried again to charge at Brittany...only to be grabbed by the front of her hairs, before the Empress built up in her clenched hand, a green energy pulse which shot out from the hand, into Utan's torso--before the monkey exploded in a bloody mess of hair, bones and organs, to the disgust of the others--and Hibiki and co. as well.

"UTAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNN!!" screamed Rabat. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"

"Never could stand that bloody chimp," muttered the PSE ruler.

"Neither could I," agreed Pyaro to Hibiki, who winked.

Unable to stand it, not even for a woman, the con man roared, "You're goin' to pay for what you did to Utan, you she devil!!"

"Bring it on, 'y ol' gimp!!" challenged Brittany.

And Rabat did just that, making a lunge at the Empress while launching into the Jeet Kwan Do kick that had once bested Hibiki Tokai--but the fastest martial arts con man wasn't fast as he had thought, for at the last second, the PSE ruler easily sidestepped out from the path of the irate con man, who crashed into the wall; despite themselves, the Nirvana crew, Magno included, howled with laughter at such a spectacle.

Unable to believe what had just happened, Rabat tried again, many times over, and again, without fail,  
the enigmatic Brittany stepped out from the con man's lunging path in one fluid movement, Rabat falling and crashing all over the place. Finally, he picked up his gun and started shooting bolts at the PSE ruler--and the was when she glowed with a green aura all 'round her, the aura deflecting the phaserbolts. Surprised, the con man tried again, only for the Empress to aim her phaser crossbow at Rabat's gun, blasting it to bits. After that, the strangest thing of all happened, when Brittany stuck out her right hand towards the con man, who in turn, felt some kind of unseeable force grab the front of his tunic. In that instant, he was yanked, stumbling to the PSE ruler, who with same hand, grabbed the said tunic, along with a handful of flesh. Understandably, Rabat yowled in pain., the Empress' fingers tearing through the fabric, and into his flesh, to the heart.

"May I remind you," stated the PSE ruler, "that you're the one on trial, not me--or words to that effect.  
Now where's the stolen file you took, along with that map?" Her fingers went deep in the con man's flesh and muscle, causing Rabat to pitch his head back to howl in rage and hurting.

"You think," he gasped, "that I'd 'fess up to that? It'd be against my reputation...!!"

"Hang your bloody reputation!!" charged the Empress. "Refusal to fess up is like gambling, for unless you divulge what I seek, the house wins."

At that moment, the long tressed redhead approached the scene; upon seeing her, Brittany turned to her and said, "What is it, General?"

Sounding somber yet bored, the General, replied, "Not a thing. The main computer's hard drive is clean as a whistle. Same with the backing drives as well. We cracked the main safe in Rabat's office, same here."

"You sure?" asked the PSE ruler.

"We went over all that with the best tracking equipment," said the General. "but we could search them again if you wish."

"Don't bother," replied the Empress before she turned her attention back to the con man and said crisply, "Right. Like I said, where's that file and the map? You'd best swallow your pride and admit you've hidden it some place before I make you wish you had given in--WHERE'D YOU HIDE THEM?"

But Rabat remained stubborn to the end, despite howling in pain till, to the disgust of Hibiki and co., Brittany, tore out flesh, bone and the con man's heart, crushing the said heart in her fist and dropping the mangled bloody remains on the chest of the now dead man, who was lying on the floor.  
Then after washing her hand, she turned to the rest of her Imperial minions, she roared, "Right!! That does it!! Start tearin' that ship apart till you come across the file and that map!! Even if you've got to tear off anything that is nailed down!! DON'T LEAVE OUT ANYTHING!! And hurry!!"

"UNDERSTOOD!!" chorused the Imperial troops in unison.

While the troops dispersed, the PSE ruler looked up at the camera eye and said, "Here's a surprise-  
a secret TV eye patched into the black box. Well, I say, see you, space cowboy!!"

With one hand, Brittany reached out for the switch--and the screen went black.

For a moment, there was quiet, then everyone was talking at once over what they had just seen.  
That is, everyone but Misty and Jura who were transfixed at what they saw; it was at that point that Dita came up to the diva and said, "Jura? Jura!! HEY!!"

Shaking herself awake from the trance, the blonde said in an almost trance like, "Huh? What time is it?"

"What's with you?" said the UFO otaku. "You looked like a zombie."

"I did?" said the Dread pilot. "That was unbecoming of me. But what a shock!! Compared to that Brittany Pereira and her...Empire, even The Harvesters were considered sweeties."

"Tell me all 'bout it," said Barnette. "Hard to believe one woman could pull a Jill The Ripper act on that Rat Bastard an' that monkey--with one hand, no less!! What 'chuu think, Misty?"

Like Jura, Misty was also in a catatonic state, her eyes wide as two wheels; Barnette shook her, saying, "HEY!! Misty!! Brrrrrrrring, wake up call!!"

"Eh?" said the newcomer. "What happened?"

"What happened?" said the green haired Dread pilot. "Where'd you go?"

"Guess I must've stepped into The Twilight Zone," said Misty, a bit sheepishly.

That was when Paiway spoke up with, "Submitted for your approval: when Captain Magno Vivian held a reunion for the Nirvana, she had no idea, we'd be reunited by fate for a whole new adventure, and with it, a new foe, much dangerous than even The Harvesters we fought a year ago.  
So, with that in mind, what started out as a reunion party turned out to be a discovery, as such, the saga continues--here, in The Twilight Zone."

"Well said," said Magno. "Like it or not, if Gascogne is right, we've got a new enemy to deal with. And to stop them from whatever it is they've got in mind, we've got to get together again, and that means needing everyone here..." She then turned to a much chagrined Hibiki, who was clenching his fist before she added, "I know how that can be, Hibiki, but we wouln't stand a chance at all without your Vanguard skills and your military expertise...please understand..."

At first, the hothead stewed in his rage over what was in store--then he thought of something.

"I almost forgot," he said. "A week ago, I had Pyaro hooked up to the computer network, and we downloaded a file that read, 'Property Of The Pereira Star Empire' You don't think...?"

"Now I am beginning to worry!!" squwaked the egg shaped comic relief robot.

"That must've been what the Empress was after," said B.C., having just now switched on his voice disguiser back to female.

"And," said Gascogne, "that means trouble."

In another part of space, in another galaxy, were twelve huge Minotaur class aircraft carriers,  
each one colored green chorme, 7000 feet long, 1200 feet high, 806 feet wide, with three tiered triple decker hangar port decks with vacuum sheilded doors, many levels of fightercraft and plasma fuel, twelve combination normal and hyperdrive engines, and a 440 foot high, 550 foot wide bridge tower, mounted on the left side of the ship, near the aft end. Of those twelve, one of them was the flagship Hohenzolleren; the other eleven were the I'urovskii, the Dagon, the Rasputin, the Marduk, the Tiamat, the Neinhalt, the Ehrgeiz, the Plotzensee, the Kurzester, the Icarus and the Styx. Each of these carriers also had Diamante class fighter craft--green chromed sleek stealth bomber like ships shaped like the Empress Brittany's tri diamond pendant with a transparent pyramid shaped bubble, comtaining a single pilot, with foward and aft mounted weaponry and twelve engines--swarming all over the fleet for protection. But it was deep within the bowels of the Hohenzolleren, where in a dim vast chamber, lit by green neon light, seated at a big triangle shaped table, was the Empress Brittany Pereira and her high officials--for a total of 24 women.

Among the officials was a green eyed blonde who had a bimbo look to her face and she was Admiral Xaltocan (pronounced as haltocan) Chimali, followed by Rear Admiral Ilyo Eos (pronounced as ay'os), a brunette. Next was the red tressed haired General known as Tsitra (pronounced as see'tra) Steg, who had her bright green eyes that indicated that despite her stoic look, she seemed to be looking for love. Next to her was her childhood friend she had known since babyhood, who had blonde/brunette hair, with cascading curls from her french bun style, with brown eyes; she was Major Gie Bele Taltli.

"I agree, Admiral," said the PSE ruler. "If we're to achive any success with seeking out that file and the map, the best bet would be a process of elimination, when it comes to seeking out the people that were connected to The Rat Bastard...which reminds me, what of the all the interrogations?"

"Not much, so far," replied Xaltocan. "We had several sessions with a merchant and her family,  
but they showed a lot of resistance and courage when they died. Then there was one old man we chased down to a factory on Europa, but when we found the guy, he had took a poison.  
What a coward!!"

"I admire their courage," said Ilyo, "but they were stupid idiots for losing their lives rather than fessing up in exchanging their lives. You'd think they were organized. Anyhow, there is one possible lead; it's rumored the Lord Granpa of Taarak and the Lady Grandma of Mejere had an offspring of the only Vanguard pilot named Hibiki Tokai."

"The famous Hibiki Tokai?" said the Empress. "I heard of his reputation as a hothead mechanic turned stratigist and pilot. If memory serves me right, he and his rank and file Dread pilots claimed victory over my Harvester creations a year ago, a moment that had my blood boiling.  
But the idea that he was the child of Lord Granpa and Lady Grandma...that part seems so ...less likely to give a lot of credence to..."

"So does it mean," asked Tsitra, "that Rabat may had deleted the file and tore up the map?"

"Maybe not...," said Brittany. "If the bleedin' Rat Bastard only knew he wasn't the only one spying on H. T. and those pirate women..."

"Come again?" asked Gie Bele.

"A year ago," replied the PSE ruler, "I planted a spy onboard the Nirvana as a backup to Rabat, so that once The Rat Bastard fell from my favor, she could take over; indeed, she did well in reporting the pirates' activities to me, and I relayed that to The Harvesters,  
thus the secret on how they knew of the whereabouts of Hibiki and co..."

"No wonder your Harvest fleet, along with their leader was able to follow them"  
said Xaltocan.

"Right said, Admiral," stated the Empress darkly.

It was at that point, that the Empire's version of the Nirvana's digital projected telescreen--a green triangle framed with control interface templates--came out of nowhere, with the face of a blonde.

"Empress," she said, "we just got a report from our spy onboard the pirate ship Nirvana,  
that someone named Hibiki had intercepted the broadcast of the file, and recorded it in the hard drive of an egg shaped robot named Pyaro. Which means he got the file for the blueprints!! Still no word on the map though. Anyway, he and a handful of his friends, along with the said robot just took off for the surface of Taarak and its capital city."

"Any of our carriers near Taarak space right now?" asked Brittany.

"That would be the Cygnus," replied the blonde officer.

"Broadcast to the Cygnus," said the PSE ruler, "and inform its crew to send a detachment of its Emerald Guard to Taarak and its capital city. Their mission is to track down an egg shaped robot that goes by the name Pyoro...and capture it in order to reclaim that file in its hard drive. And tell them to be discreet if you can."

"Understood," said the officer before the screen vanished from sight.

Turning back to the other officers, Brittany said, "I had heard stories that of all the people Rabat conned time and again, Hibiki had to be one of them. As such, Hibiki would be to The Rat Bastard, the obvious choice."

"So, what your'e saying is...," said Ilyo, "that we may be hearing a lot from the so called offspring of the rulers of Taarak and Mejere known as Hibiki Tokai."

"What do you think?" asked the Empress, a wry look on her face.

"Seems that way," said Tsitra, in a matter of fact way.

"I wouldn't doubt it," agreed Gie Bele.

Brittany Pereira, the REAL creator behind the Earth Harvest? A spy onboard the Nirvana?  
Sounds like a she wolf in the fold, someone among the Philistines, to say the least. And Pyoro? Given the fact he is egg shaped, he seems to be earmarked for bad luck, I mean, look what happened to Humpty Dumpty, remember? So now, it's a matter of time before Hibiki and co. and the evil Empire meet for the first time--but not yet anyway.

--a440.

Next: Chapter 5: Peak Performence 


	6. Peak Performance

What if all that were happening right now? What if Hibiki and co. were fightin' against The Pereira Star Empire--and trying to come to terms with each other? What if Misty became a Dread pilot in her own right? What if you could go with them? Well...you can, in our story here, now playing at a Vandread fanfic site near you...

CHAPTER 5: PEAK PERFORMANCE

Hibiki Tokai had never felt so chagrined.

It was bad enough he had been persuaded to come to the Nirvana reunion,  
it was badder that he was chased and kissed by that love crazy Jura, it was even worse that a new enemy had to butt in, considering they did the hothead a favor by 86ing Rabat, but worse still was the fact that he had to go back to Taarak with B. C., Pyaro, Duero and Bart to collect all their possessions, even if the were nailed down, from their homes, and settle again onboard the Nirvana, to reunite with the lady pirates. And right now, he was fuming while the shuttle was on its way to one of the landing platforms in the Taarak capital city.

"Cheer up, Hibiki," said the egg shaped comic relief robot known as Pyaro. "At least it'll be like old times all over again."

"Don't bother me, you meka trash," groused the hothead, who, to the surprise to all, took out a cigarette and a butane lighter, lit the cig, and was puffing on it in seconds.

Hibiki!" blurted out B. C. "When'd you start smoking?"

"The day before I came for the reunion," replied Hibiki.

"You know that junk triggers lung cancer," warned Duero.

"Why should I care?" said the Van pilot. "Be it the PSE, or tobacco, I die anyway."

"You're------------weird," said Bart.

As soon as the shuttle landed, B. C. issued to Hibiki, Bart and Duero a moving van to collecet their furniture and stuff from their homes and transport them to a waiting cargo ship for the Nirvana. But the guys were so bent on business with moving that they didn't see Pyaro wander off, and no wonder, for out of the corner of the egg robot's eye was a female version of the comic relief machine, in gold alloy and a green hair bow on its head,  
talking in a seductive way, its hand in a come hither way. "Hi, baby," it said.  
"Wanna go for fun?"

Pyaro did a double take, his eyes replaced with flashing red hearts for a second before saying, "I am in L-O-V-E! Wait up, my mecha love bug!"

So saying, the comic relief robot chased down his supposedly female counterpart,  
through shopping plazas and alleyways, the female Pyaro playing hard to get, till she led the egg robot in Sector 192178 E, an alley with a dead end. Right now, the egg machine cornered the female twin and said, "You're mine, my mecha Mata Hari..."

Without warning, the female egg machine exploded, her parts flying everywhere,  
much to a grief stricken Pyaro who wailed, "WHAAAAAAAHHHHH! What happened to you? Talk to me, my Juliet!"

Suddenly, the sound of rifles cocking, followed by a female shout of "Freeze, you shameless Humpty Dumpty clone!" could be heard.

Upon turning to the source of the voice, Pyaro's face froze in fright, squawking,  
"Oh no! Imperial----"

Instantly, a rocketing green phaserbolt crashed into the comic relief robot,  
resulting in a dozen parts flying all over the place.

Meia Gisborn was impressed--and amazed.

Impressed that Misty took to her Dread simulator lessons like a pro and amazed that she mastered and learned the battle tatics that the blue haired Dread leader had taught with uncanny instinct, speed, timing, instinct,  
expertise and flexibility, as if she had done all those fighter pilot tatics before.  
Indeed she was experienced, way too experienced, if not too on the nose.

Parfait, for her part, had found the perfect thing to build Misty's first Dread from--the green Harvester Dread clone of Jura's Dread, with the jagged scissor like front; its original computer was replaced with a more solid state digital model, new ram jet based ion engines with a hyperdrive system, both built by the Hale-Warp Corporation, which was based on, according to Captian Vivian, the giant Balderon, which Hibiki hoped to see someday. The top part of the new hybrid Dread had been newly equipped with a cockpit with a plexiglass cover that was reinforced with tough steel framing.

Climbing out from the simulator, Misty was greeted by an ecstatic Meia who said,  
"Congrats, Misty! Now THAT is what I call peak performance! You're WAY too good to be a Dread pilot--no, I truly think you're ready to be one!"

"Well...," stammered the newcomer, "th-thanks, my darling sister...I didn't know I had it in me..."

"How'd you pilot that simulator so well?" asked the head Dread pilot. "No other would be recruit was ever able to make those quick moves, and target them with gem cutter precision. You must've been a former fighter pilot where you came from."

"You could say that," replied Misty. "I was once a major in in the Plutonian air force with a record of 1200 victories." A sigh of melencholy before she added, "Before the dark times-  
before The Harvest."

"They must've done a number on your planet," agreed Meia. "No wonder you were able to escape. Well, as soon as the guys come back from Taarak, we can start the next phase of you training."

"Oh, thank you!" squealed Misty before she tackled the Dread leader in a bear hug.

The cargo ships had taken of to rendezvous with the Nirvana in order to unload; at the landing platform, B. C. said to Hibiki, bart and Duero, "Let's go, the cargo ships will be there on the Nirvana before we do."

Glancing back over his shoulder, Duero asked, "Where's Pyaro?"

"How would I know?" groused Hibiki. "I ain't the keeper of that uppity egg robot."

"Well, one of you go search," said the first mate. "We can't take off without Pyaro."

"Safe and sound," said Bart. "Just give me 15 minutes and I'll bring back the results."

"Hurry," said B. C. "No stalling."

So the Nirvana helmsman ran through the streets and alleys, till he wound up taking an unscheduled turn into the junk yard of the capital city. Nearby was a 40 foot long conveyor belt transporting and dumping junk into a molten blast furnace pit below the end of the belt--and that was when Bart spotted an egg shaped piece of junk on the belt,  
almost 12 feet from the end, only that piece of junk wasn't junk, it was Pyaro, a burnt hole the size of a football blasted through one side, the wrings and ribbon cables (one ofthem dangled Pyaro's hard drive) sticking out from the hole.

"Pyaro...!" muttered the Nirvana pilot before he ran alongside the belt till he found a ladder that went up to the belt; upon climbing it, Bart was soon at the top, hanging over the belt and the junk that was rushing to fall in the firey pit at the end of the fast moving belt. Leaning out with on outstreached hand, Bart grabbed the passing robot, wiring, hard drive and all before heading down the ladder and down the alley.

You can imagine the surprise from B. C., Duero and Hibiki when Bart showed up at the shuttle platfor, carrying the burnt out carcass and hard drive of Pyaro.

"What the--?" said B. C. "How'd THAT happen?"

"Looks like he got mugged," said Hibiki.

"Where was he?" asked Duero.

"Found him in a junk pile," replied the bald helmsman. "Guess he got mistaken for a piece of trash."

"What a mess," said the first mate. "Judging from that big hole in his side, he had a run in with something--for that matter, someone with a lot of firepower."

"Betcha Pyaro ran into some gun toting police officer," said the hothead. "You know how trigger happy they can be."

"Crooks and drunks carry guns too," said Bart. "One of them could've..."

"...blasted Pyaro," agreed the medic. "We'd best hurry back to the Nirvana; maybe the combined efforts of Hibiki and Parfait can repair him."

"Right said," agreed B. C. "Let's hurry."

Long onboard the Nirvana, trudging behind Bart, Duero and B.C., a still disillusioned Hibiki was puffing his cigarette, not only dreading over having to stay with those nut case pirate women, but also having to spend it back in those cramped former jail cells he and the guys had used last year. And worst of all was the fact that stupid Pyaro went AWOL and wound up dispatched and in a junk pile. In the end, unable to control his temper, the hothead groused, "How worse can it get here, huh? I've had enough of all that B. S.!"

Flying into a rage, the Van pilot slammed his fist on the right hand wall--and it collasped inward, revealing a new surprise to all.

"Whoa!" said Bart. "I didn't know you had it in you--HUH? What's that?""

"Well...," said a surprised Duero. "More and more secrets here get revealed each day.  
No doubt that was originally some kind of living section for the high officials before the Ikazuchi was converted."

"Looks like some kind of secret room...," said B. C. "Incredible...! I never knew that existed."

"Huh...?" said Hibiki. "It's been unused for years."

Through the new passage the hothead had made, there was a dusty web covered 50 foot square, 30 foot high chamber room of sort, the size of a warehouse. Surrounding the upper walls were terraces and stairways, with louvered walls and doors, like some kind of four level apartment plaza.

After taking stock of their latest discovery, B. C. declared, "We'd best get the Captain over here..."

Discoveries and losses and discoveries OF losses seems to be the theme here. If I am right,  
Hibki and the guys may have found their own real condo to crash out in. Seems the H-guy's punch on the wall may had been a lucky punch. But we've got a long way to go and our fave Vandread valiants haven't met The PSE yet--but they will, given time. Never could stand Pyaro, he was so annoying, as most comic relief characters go.

--a440.

Next: Chapter 6: Not Fragile 


	7. Not Fragile

If memory serves me right, it's easy to see what happed to that crummy Pyaro,  
but why should we spoil it for you? Anyhow, Hibiki may have found the perfect crib for the honor of Taarak, and in a matter of time, Misty will make her Dread pilot debut. Which brings to mind one thing: whose Dread expertise reigns supreme?

CHAPTER 6: NOT FRAGILE

The workshop of Parfet's was lined with all sorts of tools, with a worktable in the center of the room--and it was there that she, Duero and Hibiki were trying to repair the carbonized Pyaro on, but with not much success. Nearby, was the egg robot's now unhooked hard drive. Not too faraway, were B.C., Magno, Meia, Barnette, Misty, Dita, Jura and Gascogne, all mulling over the fate of the comic relief robot--until the engineer looked up and said, "It doesn't look good. He'll never work again. Please don't sue me, but we did everything we could, and so far, all we were able to save was his hard drive."

"Judging from the firepower he took," said Hibiki, "he took one heck of a beating. It's a miracle his hard drive stood up to the blow."

"What a waste!" muttered Magno. "Pyaro will be extremely missed...who or what did THAT to him?"

"I'll give you a few guesses," stated Gascogne, "and they all spell P-S-E."

"The Pereira Star Empire did THAT to Pyaro?" said Meia. "Whatever for? How?  
And why?"

"How can you be sure it was them?" asked B. C. "And what were they doing on Taarak? For that matter, how'd they get there without getting detected?"

"Maybe all these answers can be found in his hard drive," said Parfet. "I'll hook it up to the main computers and we just may learn what happened to him."

While the engineer hooked up a trunk line from the computer to the egg robot's hard drive, Barnette murmured, "Pyaro...served us well..."

"...and he'll be remembered...with honors," agreed Misty.

"Poor Pyaro," wept Dita. "Now we got no one for laughs, big laughs."

"But you got me," said Jura.

"All set," said Parfet, turning to a computer terminal with a keyboard; from there, she entered the sequence before what was seen through Pyaro's digital eyes, overlooking the explosion of the female decoy, in the Sector 192178 E alley, came onscreen. Then, the robot's voice could be heard lamenting, "WHAAAAAAAHHHHH! What happened to you? Talk to me, my Juliet!" That was followed by rifles cocking and a voice rang out: "Freeze, you shameless Humpty Dumpty clone!"

To the surprise of all here, the scene changed--to a huge platoon of Pereira Star Empire Imperial Emerald Guard troops, their phaser crossbows all aimed at the egg robot.

"See, I told you," said Gascogne.

"Oh no! Imperial----" squwaked the robot comic's voice before a heavy potshot came from one of the crossbows; the screen went snowy and distorted while a female voice, crackled, "Let's get those files!"

" ---Pereira Star Empire shock troops...got to...," crackled Pyaro's voice. "...got to.  
warn the others...OH NO! I'VE BEEN SHOT!"

No sooner were those words said, the screen went black, the sound went out, and Pyaro's hard drive, black smoke pouring out from it, shorted out and blew up in pieces.

'Well, that does it," said Duero glumly. "Guess they don't make hard drives the way they used to."

While Dita bawled her head off, Meia said, "They must've thought Pyaro still had that file in his hard drive, and when they found out it wasn't..."

"...they tossed him in the junk pile," said B. C. "What a brave sacrifice, indeed..."

"He gave his life to protect that file that Hibiki copied onto a disc," muttered Magno. "Those PSE devils...!"

"A disc?" said Misty. "At least it's safe for now."

"An' I intend to ensure it STAYS safe," stated Hibiki. "Ain't no STUU--------PID Imperial troops goin' to steal THAT disc--I'd crab the first one that tries!"

"Take a number, poop-a-doop," said Barnette. I want dibs on those PSE jokers myself."

"You an' me both," agreed Gascogne.

"That ain't the worst of it," said Jura, who was scratching her nose with her finger,  
"Without Pyaro, we can't form Super Vandread."

No sooner had the blonde diva uttered those words, Pyaro, given the fact he was egg shaped, split apart, just like a real egg; soon after that, a strange thing happened. For right after the comic relief robot broke open, the blue fragment crystal of the blue Pyxis floated up and out from Pyaro's steely carcass--and it split in two.

"What in the name of Mejere...?" said Captain Vivian.

What happened next took everyone by surprise--for that matter, it all happened so fast before anyone could react. Put simply, the first half of the Pyxis fragment flew and implanted itself into Barnette while the second half did the same to Misty. At the same moment, down in the Nirvana's engine room, the huge blue Pyxis, glowed and pulsed a few times before several comet like tendrils shot out from it, headed down the halls to Parfet's workshop and engulfed the four Dread pilots, the soon to be Dread pilot known as Misty, and the Van pilot, aka Hibiki, the blue pulse stars shifting direction and heading back down the hall; six empty spaces where Hibiki, Misty and the four Dread pilots had been were all that remained.

"They're gone!" said B. C.

"And just MAYBE," said Gascogne, "I think I know where they went."

"To the Dread hangar no doubt," said Parfet.

"Well, here we go again...," said Magno.

"Amen," agreed Duero.

Before reaching the hangar, the six stars merged into one big star, flying down the hall,  
to the surprise of much of the female crew of the Nirvana, till it entered the hangar; again,  
it split into six different stars, then five of the stars reached and engulfed the Dreads for Meia, Misty, Jura, Dita and Barnette while the last one did the same to Hibiki's Van. After a short interval, the stars turned loose the Dreads and the Van, revealing them as crystal covered forms which shattered and dissolved, their ships looking the same as before.  
After that, the stars fused back into one glowing crystal, like a glass Christmas ornament.  
For a few minutes, the crystal puled on and off with blue light-  
---------till it broke apart in countless pieces, revealing a good as new crew of Hibiki and co,  
who stood in a daze, as if they had been on a marijuana trip.

"N-not again with floatin' in that Pyxis thing," muttered Dita. "Y'know..., that was the same thing we went through which enabled our Dreads to fuse with Hibiki's Van, right?"

"Seems that way," agreed Barnette. "That means that now my Dread and Misty's Dreads can fuse with Hibiki's Van...hey, that means we can join in the fun! I wonder what my Vandread's goin' to look like?"

"As long as neither mine nor your looks like a crab like Jura's," stated Misty.

"BURRRRRRRRRP! No thanks with an F," grunted Jura, her standing a bit wobbly.  
"That'd b-be compeatin' with mine, to say the least."

"Y'know...," said Meia. "if that Pyxis fragment that came out of Pyaro fused with Misty and Barnette...then MAYBE there's STILL a chance to form Super Vandread--you with me so far?"

"Fine 'wit me," said Dita.

"Safe an' sound," said Jura.

"What do you think?" said Misty.

"Yup," said Barnette.

"Uh uh," said Hibiki, who was pulling out his pack of cigarettes.

"Uh uh?" said the Dread leader. "Why not?"

"Lissen yoo jokers," said the hothead, "remember the gripin' I got twixt Dita an' Jura over who would combine with my Vanguard? I ain't gettin' in no stinkin' brawl with you nincompoops over who gets to combine with me an' I don't need no B.S. from the likes of Barnette an' Misty givin' me a lot of birdlime!" From there, the Van pilot headed for the hangar exit the led out to the hall.

"Hey, whatchuu think you're doin'?" demanded Barnette.

"Headin' out to the park section for a smoke," replied Hibiki, who had just pulled out a cig and lit it with his butane lighter before taking a few puffs from it.

"Hibiki!" gasped Dita. "You got a cigarette! You just hand those over, STAT!" From there,  
she and the other Dread pilots ran up to the mechanic, their faces livid.

"Hey, why don't you get off my case?" snarled the hothead. "I got a life, an' you dum dums wanna dictate it!"

"Listen you," said Meia, a bit testy, "if you think I wouldn't report you to the captain for your new habit, you're ultra mistaken. Please understand, I am trying to save the life you claim you've got, lest it be lost to cancer caused by smoking."

"Duero said something similar like that to me before." said the Van pilot. "So why don't you report me?" before taking a drag.

"You just be careful what you say," warned the Dread leader. "I can arrange that when you least expect it, and someday, you may thank me for doing so, when it comes to saving you from such an unwarranted habit like smoking."

Blowing a few smoke rings in the air, Hibiki asked, "Then how does one define unwarranted?"

"And how would I know that?" said Meia.

"Listen to Meia, why don't you?" said Jura. "Smoking is bad for your health. What possessed you to purchase those cigs in the first place?"

"With the way things is goin'," replied the hothead, "smokin' is the only way I can deal with all the B.S. I am up against. 'Sides, it calms me down."

"Calm you down?" said Misty. "They ain't calmin' you down, they're makin' you stupid! There's other ways to calm down."

"There IS such a thing," said Barnette, "as the right way. We care for you so much...we don't wanna lose you, Hibiki..."

"So?" said the Van pilot. "All the other fellas on Taarak smoked as well."

"So if those 'fellas on Taarak'," said Dita, "'cided to pilot their Vans head on towards a Harvester flagship, would you do THAT too? Smoking is bad for your health!"

For a moment, Hibiki paused, taking a long drag from his cigarette, before blowing the smoke in the faces of the Dread pilots, so while the ladies coughed and gasped, he hightailed it down the hall.

"What do you mean the hard drive of that robot had no trace of that file?" demanded the PSE Empress known as Brittany Pereira, who was, along with the other senior officers of The Empire in the Hohenzolleren's central council chamber, talking via the projected digital telescreen, to Sotto Voce (who looked like a blonde floozie), the Admiral of the Cygnus, which was the Imperial carrier that was between Taarak and Mejere.

"Not a trace," stated Admiral Voce. "If the file had been in the hard drive, it's already wiped clean,  
so we just tossed that bad egg known as Pyaro into the junk pile."

"Then the file is lost!" complained the irate Empress. "That &#$ Hibiki Tokai! He must've mistaken the file for a virus and erased it! Wasted! What of the map for The Pyramid Of Titan?"

"No results so far," replied the Cygnus' Admiral. "Our Emerald Guard is searching the Mejere capital city so far, having already searched on Taarak. Which reminds me---a tiny spacecraft, came past the Cygnus from Mejere in such a hurry, so we suspected some kind of tomfoolery at hand and used our cannons to blast it to submission. So if we come across anything of value, we'll let you know."

Sighing, Brittany said in a bored way, "Carry on, then. But just remember what I said."

"Understood, Empress," said Sotto before the screen vanished from sight.

Turning to her colleagues, the Empress stated, "So it seems we're up against yet another impasse. I admire that Hibiki's courage, but if he tried to stand up to me, he'd regret it to a tee, for just as I can use use my sorcery to finish off Rabat...so can I use it to rid the so called Van pilot."

"With all due respect," said General Steg, "just what is all the fuss over a map?"

"Fuss?" echoed the PSE ruler. "That map, so the pundits say, is for the interior of The Pyramid Of Titan, where within its underground tomb is a valuable gem known as The Key Gem. With it, we can unlock The Pyramid Of Europa, where hidden in its core,  
is The Green Pyxis, one of my secret creations, which will power our ultimate weapon."

"The ultimate weapon," said Admiral Chimali, "and all it took was for that Rabat to steal a copy of our plans for it, and that Hibiki wiped it out."

"What we DO know," said Rear Admiral Eos, "is that seeking out that map for The Key Gem is now our first priority. But who can say that those Mejere pirates may come across that?"

"All the reason to believe that we should hurry to seek out that map before they do"  
stated the Empress. "At that stage of the game, there can be no bloody margin for the worst of mistakes."

"Out of curiousity," asked Major Taltli, "you said The Green Pyxis was one of your creations.  
Does that mean you made several of them?"

"That I did," replied Brittany, "in three different colors--red, green and blue; the green is spoken for, the red was finished off with my Harvest fleet last year, after what H. T. and co. did, and the blue supplies the power to the Nirvana pirate ship. Just think--three crystalline orbs of pure living hybrid high ionized matter/antimatter plasma energy..."

"You mean," said the General known as Tsitra, "that you also created those Pyxises in addition to those Harvesters?"

"Right said, General," said Brittany. "Only how was I to know the Red Pyxis, along with the bio clone I created, which would lead The Harvest, would turn not only the said Harvest and my fellow Earth colleagues against me during the beginning phase of construction and seek out their own independant conquest, in the name of harvesting humans for their own ambition in creating their own race? Since their defeat, I've reclaimed my control over them, and used what was left of their genetic work, in order to resume my cloning creations."

"A multi faceted sovergin, to say the least," said Xaltocan, the Admiral. "So the bio clone was that boy on board the giant gun ship with The Red Pyxis."

"Correct," agreed the PSE ruler. "Time to carry on with out task at hand."

"Dearly beloved, we're gathered here today, to pay our last respects to an old friend that served well, and was around for laughs--big laughs. And Pyaro was his name."

Thus spoke Magno Vivian when she stood along with B.C. and Parfet (who was holding Pyaro's carcass over her head) on a cat walk that spanned over a molten steel pit the was part of the Nirvana's recycling and foundry section; several of the crew, Misty, Hibiki, the Dread pilots,  
and the rest, stood nearby, Dita and Eara crying their eyes out (and Ezra sobbing, "Now I'll never hear him say 'Pyaro 2' again!"), Hibiki smoking and the rest of the Dread gals somber like zombies.

"Just now," comtinued the boss,"Pyaro gave his robotic life--if you can call it that--to protect a valuable computer file, and to get it safely in our possession, in the hopes we can study it, and learn just what's in it. He picked it up, and passed it on before sacrificing his life to a new enemy known as, accoring to Gascogne, The Pereira Star Empire, which MAY be intent on picking up where The Harvest left off. Whatever their reasons may be, we've got to be prepared. Which brings to mind, the reason for the reunion I set up: y' see, a week ago, I was on the horn with the goverments of Taarak and Mejere, and they said to me that with The Harvesters out of the picture, we, the Nirvana crew have been earmarked to head for the planet Earth and recolonize it, for a future generation. Right now, over the past few days, we had tech experts from the Hale-Warp company, from planet Balderon, upgrade the Nirvana with their new state of the art combination engine drive and hyperdrive system. That way,  
what used to take months, maybe half a year in space travel, can now only take a minute or two.  
That, combined with the arrival of the new nemesis--The PSE, that is--will be a real test for sure, for all of you. As such, we've got a week to make ready, stock on supplies, train our Dread crew,  
upgrade our weapons and battle expertise--and ready the new suites for Hibiki, Duero, Parfet and Bart. Anyhow, getting back to Pyaro, we must never forget what he did, in the hopes he will always be remembered...Pyaro...he will be missed..."

That said, Magno turned to Parfet, who intoned in a ritual like way, "Pyaro...we bring thee back to the metallurgical afterlife where you can rest in peace, safe in the hope that you may be reborn as a new alloy, be it Dread or otherwise. Rest in peace, Pyaro."

From there, the Nirvana engineer hurled the burnt out egg robot down into the molten steel vat, before he melted and vanished from sight, now a part of the red orange liquid alloy used by the foundry. That done, the captain spoke to those gathered here with, "That concludes the service."

Within the bowels of the Nirvana hangar, preperations for Misty's debut as a Dread pilot were underway, Hibiki getting ready in his Van, and the other women in their Dreads, prior to a training session that Gascogne had set up out in space near the said Nirvana. Right now,  
Misty was in the cockpit of her green Harvester clone drone turned Dread when Meia came up to her and grinned.

"Sister!" chirped the newcomer. "I feel so nervous! My first flight in my own Dread! I feel like I could take on the whole Empire--that is, when they step into the picture."

"Who wouldn't?" agreed the Dread leader. "S-O...you finally ready?"

"Does a bear growl in the woods?" replied Misty. "Only one thing: what kind of training's Miss Gasco got in mind?"

From the cavernlike hangar, the shout of "GASCOGNE!" rang out from the said suppy shop leader. After that, Meia turned back to Misty and said, "You know that Harvester flagship Gascogne commandeered? She's going to use it for the training in which she'll launch its machine drones for target practice so we can sharpen our pilot tactics. That way, if and when we do take on The Empire, we'll be ready. Well...I've got to get my Dread and so should you." She kissed Misty in a quick way before adding, "Good luck," and ran off.

"What's the status?" asked Magno.

"Many Dreads and one Van ready to launch," said B.C., "and Gasco's already piloted the flagship to a safe distance from the Nirvana, and is standin' by."

Just then two telescreens came--one of Meia, the other of Gascogne. "All set, just give the word, boss," said the latter.

"Were're ready," said the former.

"Launch, all of you!" said the boss.

And launch they did, Meia leading the Dreads, with Hibiki's Van trailing them, while a handful of yards before the Nirvana was the Harvest flagship, piloted by Gascogne who muttered, "Let's see what that thing can do..."

While the supply shop head waited for her cue, Meia led the Dread fleet across the starry field, saying over the comm, "OK, you jokers, here's our chance to sharpen our peak performance.  
So don't hold anything back against those drones--just don't, whatever you do, take any potshots at the yellow flagship--Gascogne's piloting it, so let's rock-a, rock-a, rock-a, rock-a one for our first training session--oh, and be careful!"

"ROGER!" called the other pilots in unison.

At that moment, Hibiki's Van charged foward, the hothead--smoking a cig, no less, said,  
"Outa the way! Beep-beep! I wanna kick BUT-TOCKS!"

"Hey, poop-a-doop!" said Barnette. "You can't smoke in a Vanguard! How can you see the controls in all that smoke?"

"With practice," replied the Van pilot. "Hang on an' I'll turn on my air cleaner system.  
OK, it's on, no cig smoke. Anyhow, I worked on a new three step combine Vandread strike system: now that Barnette and Misty can combine with me, here's how my system works-  
we approch from the front, an' I combine with Meia, then we strike from the front, then circle 'round an' change with Barnette, strike, then head from behind an' combine with Misty an'  
strike."

"Don't you mean five step system?" asked Meia. "You forgot Jura an' Dita."

"Naa, forget those bimbos," said Hibiki. "They ain't worth it."

"Bimbos?" said Dita. "Ain't worth it? You've got a colossal nerve to say that!"

"We're part of the team, remember?" charged Jura. "You can't just omit me an' Dita outa the fun!"

"Hibiki," said Meia, "what chuu got against Jura and Dita? You'd think you'd get along since a year ago. Listen, we'll save them for last, right now, we've got training to do, got it?"

"Grrrr, whatever!" grumbled the mechanic. "Let's just get ready to rumble!"

From her control bridge inside the Harvest flagship, Gascogne saw the approaching Dreads on her telescreen before she said, "Showtime..." From there, she pushed several buttons on the giant flagship's central control panel. Instantly, many Harvest carrier pods, loaded with drones, detatched from the sides of the flagship and headed for the Dread fleet, each pod launching several machine drones along the way towards the Dreads.

Not too far away from the activity was the capital starship Minotaur class carrier of the PSE, known as the Cygnus, where, up in the bridge tower, Admiral Sotto Voce had been staring at the onscreen activites of the events on Mejere and the carrier itself, when General Zimri Judas, who looked like a blonde version of Dita, came up and said, "Admiral, we've detected several ships 1200 yards from here, in the space twixt Mejere and Taarak. One's big, one's medium sized and the rest, they're much smaller, like fightercraft."

"Onscreen and magnify at 15." said the Admiral.

The projected digital triangular screen came out of nowhere, showing the place where Gascogne and co. were training before the image changed to a closer shot of the action, which was depicting the Van,  
and the Dreads using combat flight tactics to wipe out the Harvester Drones in several displays of aerial hit and run methods, Hibiki's Van, combined with Meia's, taking out a hefty squadron of those said Drones. Behind all that, launching the pods, was Gascogne's yellow flagship.

"Incredible," said Voce. "I thought the Empress' Harvest creations were inactive. How'd that one get reactivated?"

"For that matter," said Judas, "why is that flagship yellow? And those fightercraft--where'd they come from?"

"Never mind that," said Major Marano Godwin, who looked like an aloof brunette debutante. "If I didn't know better, I'd swear that was a genuine Vanguard from Taarak."

"Where? Which one?" asked Judas.

"Over there," said Godwin. "That yellow ship with the sword that just detached from the silver bird craft."

"Impressive...," said Voce. "A genuine Vanguard, indeed. I didn't think the Taarak builders built something so ancient, so obsolete--wait, that blue ship off to the right...is that what I think it is?"

On the screen, on its right hand side, floating in a safe distance from the action, was the Nirvana;  
for Admiral Voce, elation spread her face as if she had found the first fish of the day.

"So that is the famous Nirvana we heard so much in song and story," said the Admiral. "The Empress might be interested in THAT. But first, let's crash the party and get to know our hostess known as Magno Vivian." Turning to the helmswoman, who stood on a platform in the center of the bridge, using two appendage type joysticks, she said, "Set your course for grid coordinates 802/701."

"Understood, Admiral," said the helmswoman, who shifted the sticks into different settings,  
while Voce turned to Judas and said, "General, prepare the fighter crews and the gunners."

"Understood," said Judas, with trepidation.

Within a minute or so, the Cygnus, along with the surrounding Diamante fighter ships turned 'round and headed towards the section of space where the Nirvana and the mish mash melee were at, unaware of the upcoming danger ahead.

Holy ambush, Batman! The Nirvana crew may be meeting The Pereira Star Empire sooner than they thought--the hard way. Can Misty's Dread training pay off? For that matter, can her Dread, as well as Barnette's combine with Hibiki's Van? And while we're on the subject, can our fave hothead put out those cigs before heading into the breach? Can he change his mind and combine with Dita and Jura? And how will the ratings for Vandread and Gonzo turn out? Anyhow, for Hibiki's sake, tune in tomorrow, to guess the outcome, same Van time, same Van channel. Oh, and for the sakes of Dita and Jura, hang on to your rice!

--a440.

Next: Chapter 7: Bombs Away Dream Babies 


	8. Bombs Away, Dream Babies

At last...Hibiki & co. and the PSE meet for the first time,  
ready to kick it up a notch--BAM!!

CHAPTER 7: BOMBS AWAY DREAM BABIES

From the start, it seemed the training was worth it for the Dread team, for with Hibiki combining his Van with the other Dreads helped stave off the automated minions of The Harvest--and it was at one point, that the mechanic said to Misty, "You set?"

"Just lay it on me, H. T," said the blue haired newcomer.

And just like that, Hibiki's Van entered a topside hatch in Misty's Dread, and locked in place; soon after that, the green Dread's foward pincers shifted to the sides, spouting out as eight legs, transforming Misty's Dread into a big green spider--much to the amusement of Magno Vivian onboard the Nirvana.

"Well now," said the boss, "it seems a new chapter just unfolded-  
along with a newer one, if Hibiki succeeds in combining with Barnette's."

"I wouldn't doubt it," said B.C. "THAT would be something to tell our children an' our children's children and so forth bout."

At that moment, Amarone called out, "CAPTAIN!! We're pickin' up somthin' HUGE!! At least 12 GR, surrounded by several fightercraft, each the size of a Dread!! Readings indicate the ship itself is 7000 feet long and 1200 feet high."

"And those Harvester flagships," said Magno, "measure at 550 feet long and 770 feet high. Now THAT is a big ship. Onscreen."

As soon as the screen was projected, the sight of the giant carrier known as the Cygnus, with its step pyramid shaped bridge tower took everyone by surprise--especially Jura who said, "Lord, have mercy!!" while Misty muttered, "Oh boy."

For Gascogne, upon seeing the ship, she said, "The gall of them, to come here--to Taarak and Mejere...!!"

For the Dread pilots, their first sight of The PSE carrier was,  
understandably, a shock (cue the tune Hibiki In A Fret), for each of the said pilots were like zombies when it came to their first sighting of the Cygnus.

"Look at the size of that thing!!" breathed Dita.

"Cut the chatter, Dita, we've got a job to do--and a big job at that"  
said Meia. "The size of such a thing...whoever desinged that is a genius!!"

"An' I'll bet that Empress may BE the genius," said Jura.

"Could be," said Barnette.

"What the #$ difference does it make how big that ship is?!?" groused Hibiki. "Let's show those PSE jokers we ain't no cut rate wussies!! KICK BUT-TOCKS!!"

"Let's do so," agreed Misty. "an' see if our training paid off."

"Right said," agreed Meia who then said to the pilots: "OK, jerks,  
if they pick a fight, let's send them home to cry--but whatever you do, don't hurt, nor kill the pilots, even if they're the enemy!! Just concentrate our firepower on their weapons!!"

"ROGER!!" replied the pilots.

Onboard the Cygnus bridge, General Judas turned to Admiral Voce and said, "All fighter craft and Cygnus weapon staff ready and standing by."

"LAUNCH!!" barked the Admiral. "BATTLE STATIONS!!"

But even as the Diamante fight ships launched from the 3 level hangar ports, the Dreads were already in the thick of it, blasting at their guns, while the enemy ships used, in addition to phaser cannons, missiles and plasma torpedoes--in fact, the Cygnus was also using the same weaponry as well. All of which was spotted by one Magno Vivian who barked, "Engage the Nirvana into battle but just cripple the ship!! Don't kill anyone!! Bart, get the ship towards that giant craft--an' that goes for you too,  
Miss Gasco!!"

From within his crystal bubble, the bald helmsman said, "Here we go again..."

Inside the commandeered Harvest ship, Gascogne was working the controls to direct the big craft, along with the drones, to the carrier while she muttered, "I got your family values right here, ready to give you Imperial PSE cock-a-roaches a knuckle burger dee-lux."

Leading the Diamante fightcraft fleet was Major Godwin, who at that moment, spoke to her wingmates, "Seek out and shoot to kill!! Take no captives!!"

"UNDERSTOOD!!" chorused the pilots.

The battle was on, starting with some of the Dreads clipping off some of the cannons from the Diamantes, while Vandread Misty broke through the line of offense and banked to the side before using its firepower to place some blasts on the carrier's hull then let some scars on its gloss green hull, but the problem was that (a), the armored hull was so thick and (b), their energy shild decreased the Dreads' firepower. That is, until Misty spotted a big green button on her panel and said, "Let's see what that does," before she pushed it. Instantly, as it had been (almost) with Vandread Jura, several concentrated phaser beams shot out from the points of the spider legs of Vandread Misty, the beams converging to form one big beam blast that overrode the Cygnus' sheild, tearing through a section of the hull, a few firing phaser cannons, some torpedo ports, a missile silo and a part of one of the carrier's twelve engines.

"Did we do THAT?" said the newcomer.

"Seems that way," replied the hothead. "an' it we didn't know we had it in our new Vandread."

"Not bad," said Meia over the com. "I only hope we didn't kill no one, got it?"

"Amen," agreed Misty.

"Say, Hibiki," said the Dread leader, "how is it inside Vandread Misty?"

"Larger than Vandread Jura," came the reply. "Only thing is, Misty is facin'  
foward an' I am facin' backward--at least I can see where I've been."

For a moment, Meia shared a laugh with the newcomer known as Misty before saying, "Just don't get cocky, OK?"

"Aye, aye, Captain Kirk," said the Van pilot.

In one section of space, Dita called out, "Hey, Jura, watch your tubbo butt-y, one of those enemy ships is tailin' your kiester."

"I see it," said the diva. "Thanks, D. L. Time to wallop some PSE trash!!"

So saying, the blonde, her pursurer coming on behind her, flew in a taut circle till she was a few yards from the Cygnus' bridge tower,  
as if she was on a collision path with it.

"Jura!!" said Barnette. "What're you tryin' to do?!? Buy a one way ticket to hell?!?"

As it turned out, Jura had a strategy in mind; just as her Dread would crash, she banked to the left and pulled out from the path before the Diamante following her crashed into the side of the tower--though not before its pyramid shaped control pod, with its pilot inside, jettisoned from the rest of the fightercraft and flew to the safety of the carrier's hangar, its pilot shaken up but in one piece.

"You were saying?" asked the blonde.

"Listen, J.B.E.," said an irate Hibiki, "you've could've been killed doin' that."

"Ditto," said Meia.

"At least it beats gettin' killed by one of H. T.'s cigarettes," joked Barnette.

Jura's reply was a rude raspberry, but undaunted by that, Barnette said to the hothead, "Hey, poop-a-doop, you ready to help with my Vandread debut?"

"Who wouldn't?" said Hibiki. To Misty he said, "Sorry to fight an' run,  
but I'll see you on Hollywood Squares."

"Just as long as those PSE jokers act like real squares," said the newcomer.  
"Scoobidie doobie doob doob!! Give 'em hell, Lord Prince!!"

And the hothead did just that--by detaching from Misty's Dread and linking with Barnette's, resulting in the said Dread sticking out tentacle like steel appendages, thus changing the fightercraft into a squid like mecha. In short, Vandread Barnette was born.

"Incredible...," breathed Dita.

"What a marvel...," said Jura.

"Excelsior!!" said Meia.

In the Nirvana bridge there was amazement among the crew while the boss known as Magno said, "Yet another chapter unfolds...time to show those PSE kooks we ain't living la vida loca. Gasco!! Time for your part in the headline act!!"

"Already on it," said the supply officer.

Indeed, Gascogne was on it, piloting the Harvest flagship till it was 40 feel distance from the Cygnus--before she muttered, "Say 'cheese'," and went and stabbed the trigger for the ship's huge plasma cannon, which shot out a equally huge bolt of matter/antimatter plasma energy in the direction of the capital carrier ship's bridge tower.

"Admiral!!" exclaimed a bridge officer from her station. "The Harvester flagship just blasted a charge from its cannon!! It's heading for our bridge!!"

Looking up, half her sights at the wide windows and half to the telescreens,  
Admiral Voce saw the racing bolt of lethal plasma power before she turned to the frantic helmswoman officer and roared, "Take evasive action!!"

"Understood!!" replied the pilot, who was working the gooseneck like stick controls, which moved the carrier to one side, moving it safe from the path of the Harvest cannon blast, shaking up the crew something fierce while the ship's alarms blared.

Upon seeing the Cygnus swerve to one side, the boss said to Bart, "OK,  
Bartster, lock and load!!"

"Aye, aye, captain," said the bald bishonen, using a Scottish accent for the occasion, "settin' the phasers to stun!!"

All over the Nirvana's hull, countless torpedo ports opened before those said torps flew out, rushing through the zero atmosphere of space, rushing past the Dreads in the process.

"HEY!!" roared Hibiki. "Watch it now, huh?!?"

"DITTO!!" charged Barnette.

You can imagine the surprise of the Cygnus' crew, when the missiles struck the cannon emplacements, radar antennae, dishes, torpedo ports, missile silos and a chunk of a gimbaled engine--that, along with the fact that they also shook up the carrier and the crew in the worst way.

"What the &$# is goin' on here?!?" demanded Admiral Voce.

"Beats me," said General Judas, "but the Empress ain't goin' to like it."

The disheveled helm officer, who was Ensign Emelia Dartmouth,  
muttered, "I want my mommy..."

Several of the Harvest drones that Gascogne sent out along with the Dreads were not only taking potshots at the enemy carrier, they were also staving off the Diamante fighters, despite an irate Major Godwin barking at her wingmates to, "Get back in the fight, you #$& cowards!  
What's the matter with you?!?"

At that moment, within Vandread Barnette, the gunner said, "Let's see what our new jalopy can do," before touching a single switch; the tips of the appendages retracted out a phaser cannon which turned loose a bolt in many different directions, each bolt like a guided missile, blasting off enemy weaponry, blasting aside Diamantes, causing their pilot pods to detach, blowing a few enemy missiles and torps and nearly breaking up the enemy fightercraft fleet.

"So help me," chortled Barnette, "I never had it so good."

"Look at 'em run!!" agreed Hibiki. "We're the champions, my friends, an'  
we'll keep on fightin' till the end!!"

Onboard her Diamante, Major Godwin was ready to curse out her wing mates,  
when she spotted Misty's Dread; when that raced past the Major, she chanced to get a glimpse of the blue haired pilot--and that promped the Major to radio to the Cygnus: "Major Godwin to Admiral Voce, do you copy?!?"

While the crew of The PSE carrier was trying to get back on their feet, a projected telescreen of Godwin came, the face saying, "Major Godwin to Admiral Voce, do you copy?!?"

"I read you, Major," said Voce. "What's up?"

"Those Dreads," said Godwin, "seem to have an answer for everything!! We tried our best tactics and they countered them without fail!! We're losing badly in the worst way!! We lost weapons, parts of our Diamantes, but worst of all,  
you wouldn't guess who's in one of the Dreads!!"

"Full image mag onscreen," said the Admiral. "We must see for ourselves."

Aiming her onboard surv camera built into her fighter, Godwin got a telephoto scan onto Misty's Dread and its pilot, broadcasting its signal to the Cygnus, where in turn, was on a second screen, showing the blue haired newcomer; no sooner did Voce and the crew see that, they paled as if they had seen King Tut's tomb.

"It couldn't be...!!" breathed the Admiral, "but it is...!!"

"B-but how...?!?" said General Judas.

"Another discovery, Admiral!!" said Major Godwin over the comm. "I am sending another full mag video shot!!"

At that moment, another screen came, showing a shot of the cockpit of Jura's Dread, the blonde pilot at the controls, which prompted the crew to stare in disbelief.

"That woman," said the General, "She looks familiar. Where'd we see her before?"

"I ain't sure...," said the Admiral, "and yet..." Turning to Judas, she said,  
"Break off the fight, stop everything!! Recall all Diamantes, ASAP!! We've got to retreat at once!!"

"Understood!!" said Judas, who turned to relay the order.

While adjusting her helm ops controls, Ensign Dartmouth muttered, "'Bout bloody time...!!"

All over the Cygnus, its weapons stopped blasting, all the Diamante fighters broke off the battle and flew back to the carrier's hangar decks before the capital starship did a gradual turn. After that, an orb shaped green nova wave formed 'round the enemy carrier before it zoomed into the wormhole of hyperspace, a feature that allowed ships to travel faster than light.

"The guns, they've stopped!!" said a surprised Dita. "What happened?"

"What happened?" said Jura. "They just hightailed it from here an' took off, that is what happened."

"That was...," said Misty, "...strange..., I think. Go figure."

"At least we can take on those jokers easily," said Meia. "that is, with a single carrier; a fleet of them? A bit iffy."

"I told you we've got it made!!" said Hibiki.

Seeing the enemy retreat and head for hyperspace on the telescreen, Captain Vivian turned to B.C. and said, "That was our finest hour, to say the least. It proves we've got what it takes to stand up to the Empress Pereira and her stooges."

"But what if they come in greater numbers with a fleet of those carriers?" asked B.C.

"At least we'll be ready," said the boss before she turned her attenion to an open comm channel that connected to Gascogne and the Dread pilots and said, "To all, to all, to all,  
you've done well. Now we know we'll be ready to deal with The Empire, should they show up again. All units, head back to the Nirvana...the battle is over--for now."

"Captain!!" said Ezra from her post. "We've picked up a small crusier of Mejere design,  
drifting off at the right hand corner. Scans indicate no activity, yet only one lifeforn is onboard, alive. No diseases or raditation cantamination inside or out, yet it looks like the ship took a beating."

"Onscreen," said B.C.

The screen showed a battered rusted red colored craft at least 15 feet long, drifting listless, looking like the shape of a syringe with a sphere in the center of the structure.  
Some of its engines looked crippled and its hull had several black hits on its side.

"Let's bring it in," said Magno. "B. C., ready the tractor beam and bring it into one of our hangars."

"Aye, Captain," replied the first mate.

At least we know the Nirvana crew can take on The Empire and pull through in the long run. But what sort of secrets does that Mejere ship they just discovered contain?  
Baseball cards, plastic ducks and an occasional backscratcher? If you remember in the last few chapters, one of The Empire's minions did mention a ship that strayed in their sights, right? I was kind of hoping for cases of beer and champagne, but we don't know if the folks from Vandread even drink booze. So many questions. Oh well, as one wag said, the adventure is just beginning, we hope.

--a440.

Next: Chapter 8: City To City 


	9. City To City

I would like, uh, if I may, to take you on a strange journey that may be bizarre than all the animes of Gonzo, Bandai, Sunset, Genon, Gainax,  
and so forth, all put together. When Hibiki and co. took on The PSE and won, they had no idea what fates awaited them, especially since there's a lot to put together, storyline wise, in the multipart anime tradition. As time consuming as it is to write an anime script, even an anime fanfic, the rewards can be worth it. So in spite of all the dangers and such that await the Vandread crew, let's hope there's also some rewards awaiting them as well, on such a night.

On a night out...it's a night out that Hibiki's bunch is going to remember...for a long time...

CHAPTER 8: CITY TO CITY

The Mejere ship was in the Nirvana hangar when Magno and B.C. arrived, along with a handful of pirate crew members.  
Near the main hatchway, Parfet was using a key system to open the said hatch.

"Ready," said the engineer.

"Proceed," said the boss.

Touching a series of stud like buttons on a small box, Parfet opened the hatch--

--and that was when Rebecca, Ezra's "Ohma", staggered out from the ship, a roll of parchment paper in one hand, and said, "I made it...," before she fell to the floor, tired out, but still living.

"Let's get her to Duero, stat!!" said B. C.

Weakened from the trauma of having been shaken up when her ship had been hit countless times from enemy weaponry, and the lack of food for such a long trip from Mejere to the Nirvana,  
Rebecca, to Ezra's good fortune (and good food), was recovering well in the sickbay section of the pirate ship.

"You can count your blessings that we found you in time," Duero was saying. "You would've starved from malnutrition for such a long voyage. Now who was it that blasted at your ship?"

"Some huge capital starship," said Rebecca, "with a step pyramid shaped bridge tower, with a glossy green color, and twelve engines in the back."

"Like an aircraft carrier, right?" said Ezra.

"Yup," said the ohma. "I had just gotten back to Mejere after the reunion to get all our stuff so I could rejoin up with you and the crew, and I had finished loading up the ship, when some woman came up to me and handed me a sheet of parchment, a map of some place called The Pyramid Of Titan, an' told me to take it someplace safe before she ran off. I thought, 'Must be something important,' so I took it with me. But long after I jetted from Merjere orbit, That huge ship took potshots at me, till much of the ship's circuits were blasted to the point of only the life support systems functioning. But the hits shook me up a lot, that I felt I was dying, that I would be marooned--and it felt that way when my food rations ran out. I was almost on the brink of dying of hunger till you saved me in time."

"So they," said Magno, "took potshots at you just for that map?"

"I don't see why whoever it was that hit me," said Rebecca, would want a dusty treasure map. It's yours now, captain. Here."

So while Ezra's friend handed the boss the map, the said captain, the medic and the fahma known as Ezra digested the latest piece of info.

Inside the council chamber, Magno unrolled the map before the sights of B.C., Gascogne, Misty, Meia and Hibiki; the map was a two sided sheet,  
with a desert terrain and the location of "The Pyramid Of Titan", while the other side had a complicated maze interior of the said pyramid, where in the center was the treasure itself, "The Key Gem." For a moment, the six examined the map with fascination and interest before the boss said,  
"It seems The Empire's been a busy bee--first they rub out Pyaro just for a computer file he no longer had, and now they nearly dispatch poor Rebecca for a treasure map."

"Those &$# Pereira Star Empire DEVILS!!!!" snarled Hibiki. "The 'mo I hear of them, the 'mo I HATE them!! I wanna keelhaul their stinkin'  
hides at 40 paces!! No, better still, I oughta drench them in ion plasma fuel,  
light a match to them, an' play Light My Fire with my Hammond organ!!"

"You got a Hammond organ?" said Gascogne. "You should see my Fender Rhodes electric piano, it's killer."

"No kiddin'?" said the hothead. "When we get a chance, we'll compare our instruments."

OK, then, it's a date," said the supply officer before adding, "It seems we got got more than we bargined for when we came across that map. It must be something of crucial value otherwise the Empress and her fellow retards wouldn't be after it, much less fill Rebecca's ship full of holes like a Swiss cheese."

"Seems that way," said Meia. "Only what kind of value would there be behind that gem? If it's a real key, what could it unlock?"

"Something even valuable as that program Hibiki downloaded onto a disc," said B.C., "and the time's come to see just what's in that said program. You got the disc, Hibiki?"

"Yup," said the hothead.

"Then let's see just what the fuss there is in that program," said Magno.

Placing the disc in the drive, B. C. turned to the computer keyboard and entered a few sequences before saying, "Ready."

"Onscreen," said the boss.

The results came on a 36 inch telescreen: the words, PROPERTY OF THE PEREIRA STAR EMPIRE, TOP SECRET, along with:  
AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY Unjurisdicted seeing of classified Imperial contents is punishable by imprisonment and/or death.  
--Brittany Pereira,  
Founder & Empress.

That was followed by a screen that showed several green colored outlined computer generated sketches of a 12,000 foot square pyramid, with the most intricate state of the art weaponry based technology, with digital control and targeting computers, plasma matter/antimatter generators, impellers, projectors and cannons, the last located at the top peak of the pyramid.  
Below all that, was a long list of specifications, descriptions and the name of such a monstrosity: THE APOCALYPSE ENGINE.

"Staggering...," said Meia. "Plasma energy in matter/antimatter form.  
projectors, impellers, cannons and targeting computers...those look like the blueprints for a doomsday weapon!!"

"Yup," said Gascogne. "and a HUGE one at that. Compared to that weapon,  
even the huge cannons on The Harvest flagships were considered pop guns.  
According to its stats, it generates guided plasma bursts, like guided missiles before it envelops and disintergrates its target with a force of 1200 megatons and a tempature of 40,000 degrees Fahrenheit--the kind that can turn anything into ashes in seconds."

Misty whistled before saying, "It could wipe out Taarak and Mejere in two pulses...!! Maybe with just a single pulse...Apocalypse...the last book in The Bible's New Testament, in which the end of the world, God's last judgement where his only son, judges on the sheep and the goats."

"A fitting name for a weapon, indeed," agreed Magno. "A weapon like that would require the largest power source to supply weapons power and electric power at the same time to such a thing. It would take 12 cities to power that."

"Then they've got a long wait," said the supply officer. "That one section within the central core, according to the specs here is a specially designed recepticle for a green Pyxis, which is the crucial power source for such a weapon."

"You mean there's yet another Pyxis?" said B.C. "Then so far, we've got the blue one, the red one which we wiped out in the Harvest war, and now a green one? That means there were three of those said Pyxises."

"So it's hard to say if The Empire's already got the green Pyxis or if they're searching for it, that it may had been hidden some place," said the boss.  
"At that stage of the game, all we can do is wait till they make their next move and see if it leads to any clues connected to such a thing, if not to the weapon itself. At least, we may be able to locate some kind of weakpoint in that weapon's system."

"But just as equally as possible," said the first mate, "is the fact they may have already built the weapon itself, yet we must be sure...while we're on the subject of clues, what of that pyramid and of Titan? Is it a place, or a planet?"

"I can answer that," said Misty. "It's one of the moons of Saturn, which in turn is located in the solar system, which also includes the planet Earth."

"Saturn, eh?" said a surprised Magno. "Well, ain't it a coincidence we're heading out that way en route to Earth? In that case, if we reach Saturn and its moon Titan, we'll send a detachment there to use that map to seek out that pyramid and locate that key gem so we can claim it before The Empire gets a head start."

"What if they've already got the key as well?" said the Van pilot. "An'  
'sides, if it's so valuable, it must be dangerous, so why bother with it?"

"You got any idea," said B.C., "just how many people gave their lives to steal,  
then give out that file as well as that map? We can't allow their efforts be in vain. If Gascogne is right, and we know she is, The Empress and her Imperial Emerald Guard flunkies may be on the trail of that pyramid and its key, the same way they were with the file and the map. Put simply,  
it's a chance we've got to take."

"Then it's official," said the boss. "Soon as we come across Saturn and its moons along the way to Earth, we'll make a side trip there. For now, Miss Gasco, how much do you know of Brittany Pereira? As the old wag once said,  
'know your enemy', right?"

"Right," said the supply officer. "Anyhow, what I do know is that, so the story goes, is that Ms. Pereira was a native of Earth, decades ago. They say that she was a scientist that somehow came across a way to render herself ageless, which is why she never died, nor aged from her 28 year old age, long after the Earth became what it is now. They say she was a terror at elementry school, when it came to tossing the blackboard out the window, cutting classes, goin' AWOL,  
belchin' an' all sorts of other pranks. Even so, that didn't stop her from moving to the head of class. But one week after she graduated--and it was long after the war twixt Mejere and Taarak started--she then joined up with the YWCA."

"You mean she was a christian?" asked Meia.

"Not THAT YWCA," said Gascogne, "the other one--as in The Young Women's Criminal Association. Anyhoo, she did well in the ranks till she started her rise to the head of the group, which is a potpourri of some of the most beautiful but crime ridden divas that would collectively rival all the syndicates of the universe. OK-  
fast foward to the time when I lost my sister to that terrorist bombing long ago--that terrorist group turned out to be Ms. Pereira and her rollicking merry women. It wasn't till a month later that I confronted her at a abandoned factory where she had been building spacecraft and bio mech creations. After a long knock down drag down fight, I wore her out, then I dragged her sorry hide to jail where she got 12 years in the clink.  
But long after those years had passed, I was running a roadhouse when she found me there in a confrontation that turned into one heck of a brawl. We fought like cat and dog, till she took me by surprise with some kind of sorceress power which flattened me in the worst way. I took a lot of potshots at her, but she had some knid of magic energy sheild deflecting my weapons. In the end, she took me out and left me for dead; while I thankfully recovered, she an' her bunch soon were reborn as The Pereira Star Empire.  
It's said Brittany never forgave me for sendin' her to the calaboose--could be I never forgave myself, but to cut a long story short, after I recovered from my wounds, it was when I met out illustrious capitane Magno here--and that, the rest is history."

"A story like that deserves to be made into a film someday," said B.C.

"You think so?" said the supply officer. "That would be a heck of a way to make some samoleons on the side."

"Not a bad enterprise," agreed Magno. "Right now, we got a lot of tasks to cover over the following days so let's settle down and cover it--starting with rennovation a new private suite for Hibiki and co."

"Now we're talkin'," said Hibiki, who lit a new cigarette.

In a distant orbit with the huge desert and ocean planet of Balderon (which was the size of the star Betelgeuse, and located in The Crab Nebula) and its three huge suns and five moons, the twelve Imperial carriers of The PSE were in a fixed spot, hidden within their digital stealth fold generator, which folded the ships in a refractive field, blending them with the black starry world of space, ensuring invisibility, along with their radar jamming system, which prevented the capital ships from making an impression on any tracking systems--especially when it came to Balderon's Cornerstone Empire, ruled by the Empress Vanna Traedi, and their long range radar and thermal trackers on the planet, in their cities and bases, onboard their ships, fighter craft and especially their Death Staresque War Machines,  
each the size of Jupiter and, (in the case of their War Machine flagship, the Synthesis, which was in Balderon's orbit) hidden in a gas generated cloud cover and its own stealth fold. Right now, within the vast green neon lit halls (with walls lined with illuminated green horizontal rectangles in the walls) of the carrier Hohenzolleren, The Empress Brittany Pereira and the Admiral Xaltocan Chimali were on their way to the council chamber.

"Those #$& Nirvana dissidents," the Admiral was saying, "They've should've been dealt with months ago. How could you allow them to just...I just can't think of the word."

"Exist?" said The Empress. "Stand idle? Run careless? Not until we can be sure if they 've truly got the map. As the saying goes, 'Know your enemy.' As such, we wait until we get to know Hibiki and his lot. Inasmuch as we were possibly convinced that the map we seek was lost, a part of me believes that it may STILL exist, that those Mejere pirates may have lucked out in meeting the spy that stole the map, and in turn, entrusted it to one of the Mejere women. Happenstance--and logic-- does occur in the strangest ways."

"So am I to understand," said Chimali, "that there's reason to believe that the one that stole our map may have met one of the Nirvana crew on Mejere and entrusted her with the said map before vanishing without a trace?"

"Yup," said Brittany. "These days, it takes logic to guess what went on. That, and the reports we got from our spy we planted among those pirates. And if I know them, they may head to Titan in the hopes of trying to claim The Key Gem before we do. So we wait till the time is right...and then figure out what to do, so that we reclaim the gem for ourselves so that we can head for The Pyramid Of Europa and unlock The Green Pyxis, to power our Apocalypse Engine..."

They had just reached the vertical sliding door that opened; beyond that, was the council chamber where Rear Admiral Ilyo Eos, General Tsitra Steg and Major Gie Bele Taltli, who had been chewing the rag, as it were, were at the triangle council table; as soon as the PSE ruler and the Admiral entered (and the door started closing behind them), they stood up to attention.

"At ease," said The Empress before she and Chimali took their seats at the table; from there,  
everyone else settled while their ruler outlined the upcoming plan in mind.

"Right. As you may or may not know," said Brittany, "I believe those pirates from the Nirvana may have gotten the map for The Pyramid Of Titan, with the same luck when they claimed the file for The Apocalypse Engine, according to the reports we got from our spy living among the Nirvana crew. If I am right, it's only a matter of time before they figure out the file plans and the map before heading to Titan. For now, we'll follow them and wait. If they get the key,  
we'll reclaim it from them and seek out The Green Pyxis."

"Supposing they do make head or tail of that map," said the General, "and perish in that Pyramid Of Titan? Intelligence reports state it's, along with The Pyramid Of Europa, full of traps built by the original builders to stave off treasure hunters."

"Given their talent to overcome any problem," replied the PSE ruler, "the same way they wiped out my Harvest creations, they might be able succeed in doing so. And if they get past those traps--and no one ever did, to my knowledge--there's the matter of them solving the puzzles to open the right doors to make it through and escape. But if worse comes to worst, we may take over from there..."

"So we play the waiting game," said the Rear Admiral, "and if the Nirvana crew claim the Key Gem and bring it from the pyramid, then they'd do The Empire a favor, in effect."

"Well said," stated The Empress. "Like a sacrificial food taster checking a celebrity's food for poison. Like sheep for the slaughter, for once they've got what they came for,  
we'll step in, and finish the job. Not what I'd call a stand alone complex."

"With all due respect, Empress," said the Major, "I was taught to believe in an old saying that a serpent cannot eat a dragon."

"Not unless the dragon itself," said Brittany, "is a Komodo dragon, especially when it comes to three things, (a), the dragon's appetite to eat a serpent the right size, (b,  
the deadly bacterial secretions in the Komodo's fangs, spit and mouth, in which there is no cure at all for such a hyper lethal secretion and (c), its sharp deadly razor keen claws and fangs."

"Proof that even a minor sized creature," the Admiral stated ironiclly, "can do big things--big destructive things."

Just then, the projected telescreen came into view with the face of Ensign Zyanya Idomor, the blonde bridge officer, who said, "Empress, do you copy?"

With everyone turning to the screen, the PSE ruler said, "I read you, Ensign Idomor.  
What's on your mind?"

"We got a belated communique from our spy onboard the Nirvana," said Idomor,  
and it turns out they picked up a ship and its survivor who in turn gave them the map for the Pyramid Of Titan, and that they got around to checking out the contents of the file for The Apocalypse Engine blueprints, and that they've arranged for a journey to the Earth--with a side trip to Titan in the hopes of seeking out The Key Gem. My best guess is that the ship they saved matches that of the ship that took off from Mejere and was shot full of holes from the Cygnus' weaponry."

"I thought so," said The Empress. Turning to the rest of the other women, she said, "You see? It's just as I had imagined!! It's just as I had hoped for!! When the time is right, we'll make our move."

"You mean depend on those pirates to seek out the gem?" said Tsitra. "Why bother when we can do something like that ourselves?"

"Simple--because it's dangerous," said Brittany. "You want me to risk the lives of our own staff?"

"Well, no...," said Gie Bele, hesitantly. "That would be stupid."

"Pardon me, Empress," said the ensign. "but the Cygnus just came out from lightspeed and rendezvoused with the fleet."

Getting up in a livid mood, the PSE ruler muttered, "They were supposed to stay at Taarak and Mejere. Why would they desert their post all of a sudden?!?"

"Maybe their admiral can explain that to you," said Idomor, selecting her words with some trepidation. "Her broadcast is standing by."

"Channel it to our council chamber and onscreen," said The Empress.

"Stand by," said the ensign.

For a moment there was a one second pause before a second telescreen came out from nowhere, depicting Admiral Voce, General Judas and Major Godwin.

"Empress," said the Cygnus admiral, "do you copy?"

"I read you," said Brittany, her face red as a stop sign before she bellowed:  
"RIGHT!! I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO STAY AT YOUR POST NEAR TAARAK AND MEJERE!! WHAT'S THE IDEA DESERTING YOUR BLOODY POST?!!? FESS UP BEFORE I SORT YOU OUT!!!!"

Shaken up by the vehemence, the tweeked out Voce said, "It was the Nirvana. We saw some dogfight activites between the pirate ship and what looked like a yellow colored version of one of your Harvest flagship creations."

"What...?!?" hissed the Empress. "One of my creations is active?!? How can that be?!? I deactivated them all a year ago!! You saying those pirates stole one of my Harvest ships? How? What else did you see?"

"The fact," said the Cygnus general, "that we also saw, in addition to the Nirvana's Dread fightercraft fleet, the only Taarak Vanguard in existence--an' boy, did it kick butt!! It could merge with a handful of those Dreads, and form into one hell of a hybrid mecha like none other!! An' everyone knows Vans were outdated."

"That fact I know," said the PSE ruler. "So?"

"We figured the time was right," said the Cygnus major, "to, in effect, get to know the newcomers, so we engaged them in a friendly kind of fight, to let them know we're the boss."

"WHAT?!!?" shrilled Brittany. "You engaged them without my jurisdiction?  
We wanted them alive, to help unknowingly with our claiming The Key Gem!! Besisdes, didn't you know our spy was onboard the Nirvana?!?"

"How were we to know?" said Voce glumly. "Sometimes we tend to forget. 'Sides,  
why didn't you tell me to begin with?"

"You didn't ask me," said the Empress dryily. "You &$# can be so careless!  
'Sides, I wanted to see if the lot of you were on your toes!! At least you didn't rub out our only spy...!!"

That was when the Cygnus helmswoman, Ensign Dartmouth stuck her face between Judas and Godwin and said, "Here's somethin' else you may get a kick out of--everyone,  
the Dreads, that Vanguard, the Vandreads, that Nirvana, even the Harvest flagship an' its drones--they all kicked our butts, but good, usin' fantastic weaponry, which shook up our ship, then torpedoed our weapons an' knocked them out, along with our radar dishes, an' nearly trashed our Diamantes--at least there were no casualties."

Pointing to the ensign, Judas said, "You listen to her, Empress, she's talkin' sense!! And in the end, we came across two big discoveries, which is why we came here."

"Discoveries?" echoed the PSE ruler. "Of what kind?"

"We took full mag digital stills of two of the Dread pilots, said Voce, "an' you ain't goin'  
to believe what we saw. We're standin' by ready to broadcast them to you."

"Do so," said Brittany.

Two more telescreens appeared, the first showing Misty, the other of Jura; upon seeing those, the Empress' red color faded from her face, while her senior officers followed suit.

"I can see why you called for a retreat...," muttered the PSE ruler, her bluster gone.  
Then with her sights on Jura's image, she entered some sequences on a keyboard to record the images into the carrier's computers before printing out a hard copy image onto paper, the image of Jura, before saying, "That blonde...she DOES remind me of someone we once knew so long ago..." Turning to her officers, she asked, "You with me so far?"

"Absolutely," said Chimali. "But the thing is...who IS she...?"

"You askin' me that?" said Eos.

After some time, Brittany turned to Voce and said somberly, "Right. The only reason I ain't sortin' you out, is on account of the latest circumstances at hand. Make the repairs on your carrier, tonto, then head back to Taarak and Mejere and await further instructions.  
Just don't fail me again, if you can help it. Pereira, out"

Understood," said Voce. "Voce, out." From there, the telescreens vanished. after that,  
the Empress turned to her officers and said, "I equipped my Harvest creations with state of the art digital computers and anti hacking counter software; only a qualified technician of such experienced prowess like me can understand and master the technology I used for my work. Yet, one of my Harvesters was hacked into and reprogrammed with no trouble at all. Only one person I know could do such a thing--Gascogne Rheingou."

"That sucks," said Taltli. "Somethin' tells me we may be seeing more of those Nirvana pirates."

"If not sooner," said Steg.

Placing the print of Jura on the council table, the PSE ruler pondered before saying,  
"And now...we wait..."

Aftter a long week, the secret alcove that Hibiki found when he slammed his fist against a wall was completed in matters of rennovation; the hothead and the Dread crew were standing by while near the newly installed sliding doors, which had a red ribbon draped across it, while Magno Vivian and B.C. presided over a cermony for the occasion.

"On behalf of the Nirvana crew," the boss was saying, "a new era begins in the history of our ship and its crew, with a major first in ship's long history--"

"Y-yo, wait up!! Don't start the party without me!!"

Those words, spoken with a Brooklyn accent, belonged to a 18 year lively redhead, wearing a red and white satin tank top, with the name Cara on the front in Fun Stuff font, which showed her midriff just like Dita's attire, and with a white with red trim satin pleated skirt,  
came doing bounds, leg splits and cartwheels before coming to a stop before the surprised captain saying, "New Dread pilot and graduate from Mejere High cheerleader captain Cara Staam reportin' for duty."

"I remember," said B.C. "You were one of the new recruits we put out a call for a week ago.  
Of all the few chosen, you flew one mean Dread. Welcome on board and congrats on your success. We're almost done building your Dread from the last of the scraps, so when the time is right, you can make yourself at home."

"Thanks," said the new girl, who turned to Captain Vivian and added, "Yo, permission to come on board, captain. Sorry for the ruckus I nearly caused in the middle of your ceremony."

"Permisson granted, all is forgiven," said Magno. "Welcome to the ranks of the Dread crew,  
and we hope you do just as good as you say." Then, to the rest: "Now that we've got that out of the way, as I was saying, a new era begins in the history of our ship and its crew, with a major first in ship's long history, for after a long period of rennovation, we've turned what was once a secret hideaway for the Ikazutchi's high echelon, into a real set of living suites for Van pilot Hibiki Tokai, helmsman Bartholomew Garsus and Duero and Parfet Mc File!! The scissors,  
B. C."

The first mate handed the captain the scissors; from there, the boss proclaimed, "I, Captain Magno Vivian, state that the new suite is OPEN!!" before cutting the ribbon and opened the doors, while the crowd clapped and cheered. Needless to say, Hibiki, intent on becoming the first to step in (who wouldn't?), ran inside with the others tailing.

Inside, the decor was tadtfully decorated in a cross of Art Deco, Sydney Greenstreet and Greco Roman, with a billiard table, a kitchen, couches and tables, carpets, bookcases, a overhead ceiling fan--all the comforts of home, by Taarak and Mejere standards.

"I don't believe it...," said Hibiki.

"Just think..., no 'mo sleepin' in them ol' lousy former jail cells...," said Bart.

"Now THAT is something I like...," said Duero.

While everyone else was ooing and ahhing, Paiway was doing her Paicheck all over the new suite and saying to her frog puppet, "It's a great day for the Nirvana, don't you think"  
Then, she used her puppet while saying, "You said it!! It's a millstone in our long history,  
ribbit!!"

Indeed, the rooms the surrounded the main section of the suite were just as big inside, each equipped with high definition TV, a comm, a ceiling fan, cooling and heating, a sink, a toilet, an old fashioned claw foot tub with showers and curtain, a computer terminal, and so forth. In fact, Hibiki's suite was done in his fave decor of anime otaku, with drawings of his Van, all of his possession he had brought from Taarak.

Bart's suite, on the other hand, had charts of his navigation notes, his bald doll that had been made by his friend Shirley, who never had a chance to finish it when she died from the disease that had ravaged her people and her home planet, a file case where he stored his stockmarket reports on Garsus Foods Inc. and his private stock of fine wines he had collected from Taarak and Mejere, for the bald helmsman was also a wine connessiur, or as he called it, "a wine common sewer."

Duero and Parfet's suite, which they shared since their marriage, was decorated with medical and engineering charts, a smal med lab and a workshop for minor repairs, with a queen sized bed, amongst other treasures of their trade.

For Hibiki Tokai, his new suite was the first decent surroundings in a long time; as such,  
it would also be his first decent sleep on his bed, since tomorrow would be a long day,  
starting with last minute preps for their long journey to Earth, after a shakedown with the ship's new hyperdrive. For that matter, he had settled in his long slumber hours ago,  
until--

"S-U-R-P-R-I-S-E!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Jolted awake by that seven voice call, Hibiki got up, turned on the lights and waxed his temper hot, and no wonder--for there, having entered, bearing ribboned baskets of fruit, cheese, wine, candies, wrapped gifts and mylar heart balloons, were Gascogne, Meia,  
Misty, Dita, Jura, Cara and Barnette, all flashing their brilliant smiles.

"You #$& doo doos!!!!" screamed the mechanic. "WHAT'S GOIN' ON HERE??!!!!??"

"Can't you guess?" said the supply officer. "It's a welcome wagon to initiate your first suite, and to celebrate our first victory over the PSE. And I wish you'd smile, smile,  
smile!!"

"How's it feel having a nice place to live in?" chirped Dita.

"OK, I know you mean well in doin' somethin' nice for me," said the hothead. "but tell me one thing: WHY ARE ALL OF YOU HERE?!? WHY IN MY ROOM?!?"

"You just don't get it, do you?" said Meia. "Didn't you hear Miss Gasco already tell you why we came?"

"GASCOGNE!!" barked Gascogne.

"Hey, poop-a-doop," said Barnette, "look what we brung you--all your fave goodies.  
At least you can get 'round to them when you got the time."

"I even did all the decorating of the gifts myself," said Misty.

"Say, didn't you say hi to Cara?" asked Jura. "She an' I go way back, when we were born in the neon city of Dredge, on Ganymede, which is Jupiter's third moon, in the solar system."

"Wait," said the green haired gunner known as Barnette. "You mean you ain't no native of Mejere?"

"Nope, an' neither am I," said Cara, her long red hair hanging from the back of her head in a long braid tail. "Me an' Jura, we've been bosom buddies in the good 'ol neon city known as Dredge--youse could say I was a kid sister to her since her parents died long ago.  
After we took off for a better future, we came to Mejere, an' we went our ways, me, to be a captain of the Mejere cheerleader squad, an' Jura, to be the greatest diva that ever lived--and, uh, youse know the rest." Then turning to Hibiki, she said, "Yo, so youse is the Hibiki Tokai, aka The Echo City that everyone's been talkin' 'bout. How youse doin?  
Name's Cara Staam, a new Dread pilot. How's it feel to pilot a famous Vanguard?"

"What can I say...?" said Hibiki, who got off his bed to exchange a handshake with the cheer girl. "It's...kinda like a part of me, my own partner. it gives me that feel of kickin' butt all over the place when the rush takes me over. Anyhow, welcome to the Dread crew, pull up a banana, and settle down. Anyhow, to all of you nutzos, thanks for all you've given me, I'll check your gifts out when I can, but we've all got to get to bed--we've got a long day ahead in the morning." So saying, the Van pilot went back to bed saying, "Good night all, just don't make any noise when you close my door, OK?"

"Not so fast, Ex-Lax," said Gascogne, holding up her hand. "Before we do, we've got one last thing to do."

"Just make it quick, OK?!? muttered the mechanic testily, his temper rising.

With that, Gascogne, Meia, Misty, Dita, Jura, Cara and Barnette all lined up before the drowsy hothead, linked arms with each other, and started singing in the pitch of F:

"Rock-a-bye Tokai, on the tree top When the wind blows, your Vanguard will rock When the branch breaks, your Vanguard will fall, an' down will come Hibiki...Vanguard...an' all!!"

Soon after that, all seven women each in turn gave Hibiki a kiss on his cheek--and that was when the enraged Van pilot literally kicked out all seven women out from his suite, his foot kicking their butts, while he shouted, "BEAT IT, ALL OF YOU!! STUU-PID &$# RETARDS!! SCRAM, BEFORE I RIP YOUR HIDES!!!!!!!!"

Upon landing on their butts, the women tried to get their bearings back while Cara said, "Yo, what a grouchy ol' dud!! Is he always like that?"

"Yup,' said Dita weakly.

So Hibiki and his fellow dudes finally got their own crib--now if only they keep out the riff raff of divas like Dita and Jura, et al. A long day awaits the folks from Vandread,  
with the Nirvana finally making their first jouney to Earth in years. Maybe there be a pay per view event covering the big moment, just the thing for headline news. Only a few matters trouble me--who or what could be the spy onboard the pirate ship? Why did the evil PSE freak out upon seeing Misty and Jura? For that matter, what sort of connection is there twixt The Empire and Jura? A story for the market tabloids? Is it Vandread, or All My Children? Well, they say life is a soap opera, only who put the soap in soap opera? One thing I DO know--someone in the Nirvana crew is goin' to be in love. Who? Take a guess.

--a440

Next: Chapter 9: Shore Leave 


	10. Shore Leave

CHAPTER 9: SHORE LEAVE

Welcome back my friends, to the show that never ends...well...never say never.  
Anyhow, the Nirvana crew is ready to set sail and head for the Earth and do some treasure hunting. Not to mentiong trying their new Dreads--and they want you to go with them. At least it's what they say...

Preperation went by in the morning while the Nirvana crew loaded up on supplies and upgraded a few things onboard as well. Right now, the Dread crew known as Hibiki, Meia, Dita, Jura, Misty, Barnette and Cara were looking over in the hangar section, the cheerleader's hastily built Dread, which was battered, painted black and looked half Lego and half SR 71 fighter plane, in all, a pile of junk.

"Yo," said Cara, "I don't mean to nit pick, but it looks like a piece of junk."

"What chuu 'spect?" said a glum Meia. "It was all we had left from the scraps from our Dreads and some of The Harvest's. You'd think we'd get better parts from the retail store..."

"Maybe we should put an ad in the paper for a custom job," said Hibiki.

"You sure it was the best the crew could do?" said Misty.

"'Fraid so," replied Dita. "Much of the time was centered on getting ready for our first hyperspace jump."

"They say never look a gift horse in the puss," said Barnette. "What do you think, Jura?"

"Seems like," replied Jura, "the afterburners look a bit frayed."

"'Fraid of what?" said Hibiki, who just put out his burnt cigarette.

"Oh, what's the use?" said the Mejere cheerleader in despair. "I know youse meant well, an'  
I don't mean to be an ingrate, but it just looks like a pile of junk. I just wish something could be done 'bout that."

Suddenly, as it was with Barnette, the fragment of the Pyxis within Jura flew out, split in two,  
and the first half went back in the blonde diva while the other went within Cara, who said, "Y-yo, what's happenin'?!?"

"Don't ask," said Misty.

And on cue, for the second, if not the third time, a pulse of energy raced out from the blue Pyxis, rocketed down the hall, entered the hangar and engulfed Hibiki and co., along with their Dreads and the Van; after a minute or so, the pulse faded, the Dread crew and their ships intact.

"Everyone OK?" said Meia.

"You askin' me that?" said Hibiki who looked back at his Van and the Dreads and exclaimed,  
"HOLY DOG POO!!!!!!"

And no wonder, for in place of the trashy, battered pile of junk that had been earmarked to be Cara's Dread, was now a black glossy sleek craft, shaped like a cross twixt a B2 Stealth bomber and a Russian MiG fighter craft, the main and tail wings decorated with white stripes in a zebra pattern, with twelve engines in the back.

"Y-yo...," said Cara. "Someone pinch me, I mus' be dreamin'..."

"Did we build THAT...?!?" said Barnette.

"Seems that way," said Dita.

"I hope Detroit is takin' notes," said Misty.

"Oh my oh me, oh me oh my," said Jura.

"Seems like B.C. and the capitan will be interested in THAT...," said Meia, with a grin.

At last, the upgraded Nirvana was ready for its first flight to Earth, and many ships full of well wishers from not only Taarak and Mejere, but also from Melanus and several other planets were in planetary orbit, overlooking the pirate ship. Right now, up in the bridge,  
Magno, B.C., and much of the bridge crew were ready when Ezra said, "We got the communiques coming in from Taarak and Mejere, exclusively from Lord Granpa and Lady Grandma."

"Onscreen," said the boss.

Two digital screens came out of nowhere, one of Lord Granpa of Taarak and the other of Lady Grandma of Mejere, the former saying, "Well...it's been years since it came to be, eh,  
Magno?"

"Maybe," said Magno. "Freak luck? That is up to the pundits."

"All the same," said Lady Grandma, "it's an honor that your ship should be the first to be equipped with the newest hyperdrive, enabling ships to travel faster than light."

"Just think," said the Taarak ruler, "what took years to travel arcoss the universe, may take a few minutes--and for the first time, beable to travel back to where it all started...the Earth,  
and someday restore it back to its former glory."

"That is a lot of stuff to lift up anyone's spirits," said the boss. "which reminds me: the time's come to inform the crew and everyone else here what our task at hand is..." Turning to B.C,  
she nodded and the first mate touched a switch, enabling the capitan to be seen and heard throughout the ship, as well as the well wishing ships, along with those on the planets of their space and that of their home planets as well.

"To all the crew of the Nirvana," Magno was saying, "people of Taarak, Mejere, Malanus, and other races and planets, hear me out: we've reason to believe, a year or so after we had bested The Harvest, that a new enemy just showed up, in the form of The Pereira Star Empire,  
under the leadership of its founder sorceress and Empress, Brittany Pereira, and it seems she's after something of crucial value. Which means the saga continues. But here's where the real reason for the Nirvana reunion comes in. You see, for the better part of last month, me, B.C.  
and gascogne have been working with Lord Granpa of Taarak and Lady Granma of Mejere, along with The Cornerstone Empire of planet Balderon, a planet whose people happen to be the most highly technilogically advanced,and its Empress, Vanna Traedi, and we've set up and arranged to do the one thing no one ever thought of doing, now that The Harvesters neve been rendered now defunct--traveling to the planet Earth and hopefully restore it back to its original form and habitible for everyone, and if it works, the populaces of Taarak and Mejere can finally come home to their real home planet, known as Earth, after so many years..."

Everywhere, from the ships, the planets, you name it, there was cheering and applause, before the boss added, "Right now, we, for the better part, along with Her Illustrious, the Empress Vanna and her Cornerstone Empire, along with one of their plaenet's number one engine and hyperdrive company, The Hale-Warp Corporation just recently modified and retrofitted The Nirvana and installed the company's top of the line engine and hyperdrive system, which should enable the Nirvana to travel faster than light; with it, we can travel to the Earth and hopefully restore it back to what it once was, so that we can repopulate it, and start a new beginning, while at the same time, figure out what motive The Pereira Star Empire's got in mind, and if circumstances call for it, whoop the daylights outa them!! May we succeed in our task. That is all."

Whithin the cheering, Lord Granpa said, "Godspeed to you and your crew, Magno."

"Bring glory and a new chapter for Taarak and Mejere," said Lady Granma.

After the screens vanished, Magno turned to B.C. and said, "Prepare for flight, and enegage the new hyperdrive. We're heading for our first stop of the day, planet Balderon."

"At once," said the mate. To the others on the bridge, he said, "Prepare the hyperdrive and set course for Balderon. Bart, it's time."

A new telescreen came on, showing the scion of Garsus Foods in his helm bubble. "Unkel dunkel," he said.

Throughout the pirate ship, in the hangars, living units, engineering spaces, everywhere,  
telescreens came on, depitcing the boss who said, "Attention, attention, the time's come for our first hyperspace journey, to planet Balderon, en route to what could be the ultimate journey--a journey we might not come back from. But we'll perservere, sneak past The PSE,  
and reach The Earth and back safely. And by the by, there'll be shorter coffee breaks."

"Hyperdrive ready," said B.C.

"Course 1-8-0 readied and programmed for planet Balderon," said Celtic.

From down in the bowels of the Nirvana's engine room, several of the techs were at the controls when a thick humming sound came in; turning to the comm, Parfet said, "Cryogenic plant coming online." Then under her breath, she added, "Hyperdrive don't fail me now..."

"Standing by," said Bart. "All you jokers, hang on to your unmentionables and don't do no no in then."

"Ready," said Amarone.

"All set," said Belvedere.

"Let-err-rip," said Celtic.

"Start er up," said Ezra.

"What they said, " said Rebecca.

"Stand by on 12 second countdown," said B.C. "12 seconds, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, zero,  
HYPERSPACE!!"

At once, at the same time, Bart, Amarone, Belvedere, Celtic, Ezra and Rebecca touched a major control; a blue sphere enveloped the pirate ship and both that and the sphere appeared to shrink while they zoomed into hyperspace, the stars ahead shifting to green and the stars behind shifting to red...

Finally some peace and quiet.

While the Nirvana zoomed through hyperspace for the first time, inside his fancy apartment, Hibiki Tokai took the last draft of his cigarette before stabbing it out in the ashtray and looked up to the ceiling in thought, unsure as to how the ship's crew could save the earth. That, and the worry over solving that strange map with the PSE on their tails. Sure, beating The Harvest was one thing, but compared to the PSE, even The Harvesters were considered sweeties. All of which the hothead took into account until a knock at the louvered door broke into his reverie. Getting up, the Van pilot peered through the slats and saw Meia with a cart of food, a champagne botte and glasses, and a big cook book.

"What's up, Meia?" said the mechanic. "What's with all that stuff?"

"Can I come in?" said the Dread leader. "Thought I'd make for me an' you a special meal in your new place."

Opening up the door, Hibiki said, "Sure thing, Big M. What you got?"

"Special, bell peppers with beef," replied the blue haired pilot.

From what happened next, Hibiki discovered that Dita, Jura, Misty and Barnette weren't the only cooking virtuosos--so was Meia when she set to work in stir frying in a pan, nuggets of red, yellow and green bell peppers and ground beef, then readied a salad of romaine lettuce, olive oil and balsamic vinegar, corn and mashed potatoes before setting all that on their bowls and plates on the table. Soon the Van pilot and the Dread leader were dining, with glasses of milk and the food at their sides; like all the other females, the blue haired pilot was a wizard at cooking.

"Fantastic!!" said the hothead. "There ain't no other way to describe all that!!"

"You mean all that food?" said Meia. "When was the last time you had food like that?"

"To begin with," said the Van pilot, "your bell peppers and beef--it's 40 times better than Dita's."

"Better than Dita's?" echoed the Dread leader. "Why's that?"

"Her bell peppers and beef," said the mechanic, "ain't got no beef--in fact, a week after our junket on Taarak after we bested The Harvest mother ship, she made me her bell peppers and beef, but without the beef, saying she couldn't afford any."

"Couldn't afford any?" said the blue haired pilot. "What happened to the big paychecks you two got for your part in the victory over The Harvesters?"

"We were on Taarak with Duero and Bart," replied Hibiki, "and naturally, dumb Dita insisted on renting a car so she could tour the city with me an' what's worse, insisted on driving; I mean, piloting a Dread,  
it's one thing, but driving a car, THAT is a different story. As a result, she crashed her way all over the Taarak capital city, and after that, the repair bill for busting the rented car, the fine for reckless driving, the bill for repairs on the stores and places she crashed through, and the medical bill for injuring a Taarak high official--KILLED ALL THE DOUGH!!!!"

Meia whistled in surprise before saying, "That sucks. I can see why your relationship with Dita went downhill after that. So, you looking foward to our stopover on Balderon?"

"Who wouldn't?" said the hothead. "But when it comes to trying to healing the Earth, and the fear of another run in with those PSE freaks, well, then scared would be a better word."

"I would be too," agreed the blue haired pilot. "But we've got a job to do there, starting with obtaing supplies from Balderon, as well as meeting with one of the officials with The Cornerstone Empire, touring their capital city which is also called Cornerstone in the state of Cornerstone, in the capital nation of The United States of Balderon. And THEN we've got to meet with their Empress on the possibility of a secret mission for hire--maybe something to do with a secret base operated by The Pereira Star Empire--and in one day, no less. An' y' know what? You ain't the only one scared."

"Figured that, eh?" said the Van pilot.

"Yup," said the Dread leader. Then, producing a bottle of white champagne and two crystal Baccarat glasses,  
she added, "On the other hand, I got just the thing for the scaredey blues." Uncorking the bottle, she poured the white fizzy stuff in the glasses and handed one to Hibiki, picked up her own glass, and said, "Here's to a new chapter in the Vandread saga."

"What you said," said the mechanic while he and Meia toasted each other. After that and the meal, they had fudge sundaes before they washed everything before the Dread leader handed the hothead the cookbook saying, "Hibiki, here's a present--just follow the directions in the book, and you should be cooking like a pro in no time."

"Thanks a heap," said the Van pilot. "Y' know...if I didn't know better, I'd swear you see me as more than just a friend..."

"You think so?" said the blue haired pilot, who was blushing.

"I guess," said Hibiki. "Listen, thanks for all here, you're one of the good ones."

At that moment, Amarone's voice came over the P.A. system: "Attention, all personnel, we'll be coming out from hyperspace, en route to Balderon in one minute time."

"Let's head to the bridge," suggested Meia.

The bridge crew was on edge when Hibiki and Meia arrived, before Magno said, "It's time, B.C. Time for some major history."

"Right," said the first mate. To the rest of the crew, he said, "Stand by to switch to sublight normal speed, 12 seconds, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, zero, SUBLIGHT!!"

As before, the bridge crew, along with Bart worked their controls before the lightspeed distorted points of starlight shifted from streaks to stars, the Nirvana coming out from light speed; ahead was the Betelgeuse sized ocean and desert planet of Balderon, with a gas cloud bank nearby.

"Now THAT is a BIG planet...," muttered the hothead. "They'd dwarf Taarak, Mejere and the earth all at once."

"Amazing and beautiful at the same time," breathed the blue haired pilot.

"What do you think, Captian?" said B.C.

"I say," said Magno Vivian, "that you inform Gascogne that she and the Dread crew prepare for the arrangements."

Seems the Nirvana crew is making good timing on their first hyperspace jump to the planet Balderon. Any idea what the planet's Cornerstone Empire's emissaries might be? Let's just hope they don't look like Jillian Reynolds in Bermuda shorts--UGH. And what would the planet itself be like? Let's hope it ain't like Pittsburgh with all that pollution. Anyhoo, just what sort of monkeydoodle is the evil Empire up to on the planet? And given the fact she's nicer to Hibiki and even treated the H-man to a fine meal, could it be she's nicer, maybe having the hots for the Van pilot? And we thought she only saw the ol' grouch as just a friend.

--a440

Next: Chapter 10: New Friends


	11. New Friends

CHAPTER 10: NEW FRIENDS

Desert rats, unite!! Hibiki and his bunch have come to the desert planet of Balderon and the real fun starts--if fun is the word for it. Oh, and, uh, sorry for the long wait, folks.

Piloting her shuttle craft and Van and Dread carrier, Gascogne,  
with Bart at her side (Magno figured the helmsman could use a change of scenery) pitched and prepared for re entry into Balderon's atmosphere before landing at the arranged rendezvous point where she and much of the Dread team would meet with one of The Conerstone Empire's emissaries, in the planet's capital city of Cornerstone, in the state of the same name, in the planet's capital nation known as The United States of Balderon (USB). Anyhow, she was leading the team while Hibiki's MP3 player in his Van was playing Chuck Berry's version of Get Your Kicks On Route 66, the rest of the crew in a jubilant mood.

"Half desert and half ocean," said Meia. "and yet a planet the size of Betelguese could be habitable despite its strong gravity pull; as a rule,  
the larger a planet is, the stronger its gravity is."

"As long as it's not strong to crush anyone like a tomaty-o," said Barnette.  
"I dread the thought of walking like Groucho Marx."

"We knew the job was dangerous when we took it," said Dita. "Besides, we're the only ones with pay or play contracts--or is it play or pay contracts?"

"Who cares?" said Misty. "Let's just get it over with so we can get to know these people and collect our supplies and paychecks. Besides, just check out that oh so gorgeous landscaping--those three suns, that azure ocean and dune and rugged desert terrain. It makes me homesick--just like Vegas, Nevada and Lake Mead."

"I never heard of places like that on Taarak, let alone Mejere," said Hibiki. "What're they, some kind of paradise?"

"Accordin' to those Earth archives," said Cara, "I heard they was in the state of Nevada, in somethin' known as The United States of America, a nation named for an Italian named Amerigo Vespucci. It's said that another Italian, named Columbus discovered it, but it turned out he never even set foot on that nation."

"Crazy way to name a nation," said Bart. "Maybe he took a detour on the way."

"Could be," said Gascogne, who took to scratching an itch behind her ear. "Soon as we reach the state of Ootacow in the USB, we'll rendezvous with the fleet of The Cornerstone Empire's Manta fleet who will escort our ships to the capital city of Cornerstone. Our contact there is a Brigadier General named Rael Tobias."

"Let's just get it over with," said an almost edgy Jura. "Politics give me an appitite an'  
I could use some eats when we've got the time."

"An' I thought I was the only one that ate so much," said the hothead.

The PSE flagship known as the Hohenzollern had landed near a vast landscape of desert land beneath the triple dose of solar radiation, while inside the hangar, the Empress Brittany was with General Steg and Major Taltli, who were were standing by their own Diamante craft.

"I am counting on you," Pereira was saying, "to do our routine check in the city of Cornerstone to search for that so called group of anti PSE dissidents hanging 'round there you claimed you discovered. If there's any such rebels like those hiding out there, report it at once and we'll pass it on to our Emerald Guard to make a surprise raid on their headquarters. Do whatever it takes to track them down, but unless I state otherwise, I want them alive. No disintergrations."

"Understood," said the General. "We only hope what we heard from the rumors weren't just a wild goose chase."

"I hope not," said a testy Brittany. "We've got a reputation to protect. Carry on!!"

As soon as the Empress parted from there, the Imperial officers headed in haste to their own respective fightercraft, Gie Bele muttered to Tsitra: "I hope you know what you're doing...."

"Stop worrying," hissed Steg. "If we meet the right people, it just might work."

"Famous last words........I hope it works.......," said Taltli, before she and her childhood friend each manned their Diamantes, and took off from the hanger of the flagship carrier and zoomed into the blue skies of Balderon.

Upon reaching the coast of The United States Of Balderon, the first thing the group saw was the volcanic obsidian scarred landscape of the state of Ootacow; after that, four jet black gloss manta ray shaped ships, with two engines in the back, flanking a long tail, a lot of weapons front and back, with a louvered window in the front--and that was when a new voice came on Gascogne's com: "Attention. In the name of The Cornerstone Empire, I, Brigadier General Rael Tobias, request you state your ID, and don't deviate from your flight path."

"It's OK," said the supply officer. "Gascogne Rheingau, from the Nirvana, arriving as requested."

"Gascogne," said Tobias, "Her Illustrious, the Empress Vanna briefed me on you. In that case, follow our ships to Cornerstone."

And follow they did;in time, gave way to the desolate and small village dotted dune and rocky terrain of the state of Solei. By the time the Dreads, the shuttle and the Van reached the capital state of Cornerstone-  
with Hibiki's MP3 player playing The Stories doing Brother Louie.....and that was when the most amazing thing came into their sights--the capital city known as Cornerstone.

It stood, as if it had been carved out from the giant 2112 foot square, 70 foot high concrete square pedestal,  
but at the top of that said structure, standing in the center of the capital state, was a vast, sprawling megaopolis of a city, as if it had been made of four New York Cities, with sky scrapers, freeways, steets,  
houses, some built from stucco and painted white, no dout to reflect off Balderon's triplet suns. Atop some buildings were ginat neon billboards, bilingually in the algorithmic alphabet of Balderonian and English. Overall, the whole thing was staggering to Hibiki and co., while they flew up and over the city skyline.

"Now THAT is a city....," said Gascogne. "Take a good look, all, when it comes to a city like that."

"Larger than the capital cites of Taarak," said Hibiki, who took a drag on his cigarette.

"What a sprawl," said Misty.

"Whoever designed that must be living it up," said Meia.

"I wonder if they got any food courts?" said Dita.

"Can't you stop thinking with your stomach?!?" said an indignant Jura. "And I thought Hibiki was the only one."

"If they got any food courts," said the hothead, "I wanna be the first there to sample what they got."

"Save me some of those wares for me, poop-a-doop," said Barnette.

"What bunch of pigs youse is," said Cara.

"Hey, I eat as much as Hibiki does," said Bart. "Don't I get a vote?"

The ships were soon crusing over the spires and building tops of the city until they landed on a square landing platform that overlooked much of Cornerstone's (the city) general skyline. After landing, the Nirvana crew climbed out from their ships and stood before the other manta ships, waiting to meet the newcomers.

"What a place," said Bart, but boy, those suns can be so hot!!"

"Already, I am sweatin' like a pig," complained Dita.

"Then why don't you squeal like a pig?" said a sarcastic Hibiki, who finished his cigarette.

"No," said Misty, "it should be 'squeeeeeeeeeeeeel lahk a peeeeeeeeeeeeg,' like that."

"OK," said the hothead to the UFO otaku, "then why don't you sqeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeel laaaaaaaaaahk a peeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeg?"

Dita responded by crawling and indeed, squealing and grunting like a pig, prompting Meia to say, "Now that is what I call a ham."

At that moment, the underside ramp hatches of the manta ships opened; upon seeing them, Gascogne and co. stood to attention before the twelve members of The Cornerstone Empire came out--dressed in ninja pajama like uniforms,  
studded with silver ring holes, capes, two four foot long katana swords at their waists, fancy triangle emblems on their shoulders, indicating their rank, wearing hoods studded with some silver ring holes to see out and breathe--and the uniforms were in black, some brown and others gray. One of them, their leader no doubt, came to a stop before the group and removed his hood, revealing a face with long black hair pulled down and over the back of his head and neck, with bold eyes, a Roman nose and a face that looked like a cross between Joe Pesci and Ming The Merciless.

"Gascogne Rheingou, I presume?" he said, in a deep sonarlike voice.

"That would be me," said the supply officer. "And with me is Hibiki Tokai, Meia Gisborne, Misty Cornwell, Barnette Orangello,  
Cara Staam, Jura Basil Elden, Dita Liebely and Bart Garsus of the Nirvana, at your service."

"An honor to meet you," said the leader. "I am Rael Tobias, Brigadier General of The Cornerstone Empire's Imperial Division 338, and it's an honor to meet the survivors of the Harvest War of Taarak and Mejere, who also lived through their first meeting with The Pereira Star Empire; not many people that meet with The PSE live to tell upon meeting them"  
Then: "I take it, you must be starving, so if you will follow me, I'll treat you to one of our finest eateries for VIPs like you.  
And fear not--the payment's on me."

"'Bout time," said Hibiki.

"That figures," said Jura, grinning. "Diet be lynched, I wanna try out whatever food fare they've got."

With Rael and his officers leading, Gascogne and co. followed them down a ramp at one end of the platform, down into the bowels of the city.

Half cantina, half roadhouse and half family restraunt, Zaar Fieuavil (Balderonian for The Firebird) was, according to Brigadier General Tobias, Cornerstone's number one diner, with great food and the fact it won The Dnoz Award 12 times in a row.  
Right now, he and his officers, male and female, their hoods off, were amused, as were Gascogne, Bart and Meia, while they,  
Dita, Barnette, Misty, Jura, Cara and--who else?--Hibiki tore into the food, making pigs of themselves, and having the time of their lives, understandably.

"For a group of people from two different planets," said Rael in admiration, "you seem to be cultivated in matters of our cuisine."

"Not only that," said Hibiki in between eating, "your food an drink is GREAT!!"

"I agree," said Meia. "From what you said of The Firebird winning awards 12 times in a row, I can see why--on account of the food here."

"Amen," said Gascogne.

"Sorry for interruping," said Bart, "but where's the toilets here?"

Pointing down a distant hallway, the Brigadier General replied, "Straight in the back there, you can't miss it."

"Thanks," said the Nirvana helmsman before getting up and heading the suggested direction.

"So," said Gascogne, "what's the details at hand?"

"So far, we've had recent reports," said Rael, "that the PSE built a 1200 foot square misslie and lab base months ago here, 50 miles on the east outskirts of Cornerstone. According to Her Illustrious, there's reason to believe that the Empress Pereira may be at work on some secret project inside the said base that could benefit her Empire's cause and at the same time, spell doom for our Empire, as well as the rest of the galactic population. Given your reputation for having been through such experiences with The Harvesters, you seemed like the perfect candidates to infiltrate the base, learn just what the project is, and stop it, along with the base, in its tracks."

"A reconissance and sabotage detail, eh?" said Meia. "Sounds like a heck of a way to pick up some spare change, not to mention get the dirt on The PSE."

"We'll do it," declared Gascogne. "Anything to do with that Brittany Pereira brat is right up my alley."

"Define 'right up my alley,'" said the Brigadier General, his eyes expressing puzzlement.

Not too far away, General Tsitra Steg and Major Gie Bele Taltli had just entered Zaar Fieuavil in a discreet way,  
in the hopes they wouldn't draw attention, even as the made their way behind the tables and booths of the patrons before reaching the hallway to the bathrooms.

"I don't know why we had to come here," hissed the Major. "We're fortunate we didn't attract attention, all those Cornerstone Empire Bollix troops all over the place."

"So even an officer of The Empire is entitled to answering nature's call, lest there be an accident," said the General.

"Agreed," said Taltli. "Guess we were born with syncronized bladders."

At that moment, inside the gentlemen's bathroom, Bart had finished washing and went out the door--

--and he and Tsitra nearly ran into each other, startling each other, to Gie Bele's amusement and surprise.

For a moment, the Taarak male and the Jovian female stood there, the Major saying, "Ain't that the fella from Taarak?  
General? You all right?"

Within their zombie state, Bart and the General stared at each other, each sizing the other up, while in their minds,  
they heard Tchaikovskii's Romeo & Juliet Overture. Finally, the two broke out from their trance, a flustered Bart blushing and running down the hall and Steg blushing before composing herself, saying, "What happened?"

"What happened?" said Taltli. "You phased out like a zombie--that man, judging from his uniform, he looks like he came from Taarak. What's he doing here?"

"Must've come with the Nirvana crew," replied Tsitra, "only how'd they get here so fast.....? They don't have the technology for hyperdrive power....or would they.......? No matter; let's go."

And on that note, Tsitra and Gie Bele entered the ladies' bathroom.

Little did anyone, even the General and the Major, know, was that someone else was also in Cornerstone as well--the Empress Brittany Pereira, hiding in the city's alleyways,, slipping behind the city buildings, until she reached a shadow darkened alley,  
some female hiding in those shadows, her face and body obscured by the dark.

"So," said Pereira, "you've arrived right on time at our appointed rendezvous. Well done."

"What is thy bidding, my Empress?" said the female.

"First off,," said the Empress, "give me your latest report."

"The Nirvana crew," said the hidden female, "is INDEED here; it's mostly comprised of the Vandread crew, a Taarak pilot named Bart Garsus and a Gascogne Rheingau. They were seen coversing with some bigwigs of The Cornerstone Empire,  
and one of them was a Brigidier General Rael Tobias, who outlined the location of our missile and lab base here on Balderon,  
along with the reason to believe that they may try to sneak into the said base to spy on our secrets."

"I see," said Brittany. "So my old nemesis known as Gascogne, after so many years, comes here with help........like sheep earmarked before the slaughter....."

"Also," said the female, "one of the Dread pilots looks like the one the matches the hard copy image you mentioned to me."

"Is that so?" said the Empress. "So far, our computers were given a major priority search on that unknown blonde. We may yet attain our info regarding who she is soon."

"Remember our deal, ever since you gave me that mission years ago--that I get to come back when I've compleated my task, right"  
said the female, impatiently.

"It will be done," said Pereira," ONLY when you've completed your tasks successfully. Head back to the rest of the Nirvana crew and maintain tabs on them. Update me on any further developments and carry on."

"Understood, my Empress," said the female, before retreating further in the shadows.

Night time. Five moons arranged in a W pattern in the starry sky, a few of some other planets here and there. And here, on the side of a dusty road, on the outskirts of Cornerstone, hiding behind some bushes, was the Nirvana crew, peering out a few yards at an armored tank like car, bristling with weapons and parked near a concrete blockhouse the size of a gas station.

"What do you think?" said Meia to Gascogne.

"Only seven women came out from the tank," replied the supply officer, "an' they're cooling off in that blockhouse. That makes it 9 against 7, so if we took out those 7 an' stole their uniforms an' their tank, we might get our passkey for that base."

"Count me in," said Hibiki, who just lit one of his cigarettes.. "Me an Cara can take em' out."

"Just you two?!?" said Meia, her face pained. "Impossible!!"

"Wanna bet?" said the hothead. "Let's go, Cara."

"Right behind youse, Echo City," said Cara, who picked up a five foot long lead pipe and followed the Van pilot before anyone could stop them and they scamped across the sandy terrain, behind some bushes, and came to the entrance to the blockhouse, Cara on the left side, Hibiki on the right.

"My kinda fight, youse wit me so far?" said the new Dread pilot.

"Jus wait till they come out an' bash their heads with that pipe you got," said the hothead. "I'll get em out." So saying, Hibiki stuck his head in the doorway and yelled, "Hey, you &^*%#$ PSE bimbos, you wanna kick butts, you cream puffs?"

Instantly, a single female officer of The Empire came out, her weapon at the ready--and that was when she got her head bonked by Cara, using her lead pipe; she fell down, having been knocked out before the Dread pilot pulled her over to one side, while the hothead used a piece a chalk to scrawl a mark on the blockhouse wall, then called out, "Why don't you #%*$^& sextards admit you're all sick cowards that can't belch sideways as if their lives depended on it?!!?"

At once two PSE women came out, but they too were knocked out by Cara's magic pipe before they had a chance to draw their weapons, meaning in two females of the evil Empire dragged off and two more chalk marks on the wall. Then Hibiki yelled, "OK, you &^$*%# PSE skunks, COME ON!!"

Once again, two more women came out, fuming over the taunt, and once again, Cara bashed their heads before carting them off, Hibiki drawing two more marks on the wall--five down, two remaining--so the hothead turned back to the doorway and called, "Come on out, you &^$*%# fatheads!!"

As before, the last two came out, and were bonked on their heads; while Cara dragged them off, Hibiki stepped in the blockhouse and came out, gesturing and saying, "It's safe now, there were only seven of those PSE gals there."

With Gascogne leading, the rest of the group came out of hiding and came to where the hothead and the cheerleader pilot were and were amazed at what they had seen.

"Shades of Davey and Goliath....!!" breathed Misty. "You two pulled it off!!"

"Daring move, Hibiki!!" said Dita.

"Git-R-Done, poop-a-doop," said Barnette.

"I wouldn't had believed it if I didn't see it," said Bart.

"Yay, Hibiki and Cara, for the win!!" chirped Jura.

"That was a fantastic script you two did," said Gascogne.

"You wouldn't come across that trick in the Dread manual," said Meia, "but it worked."

"An' wit good reason," said Cara, "for we're the champions, my friends."

"An' we're born to kick PSE butt," said Hibiki, who took the last drag from his cigarette.

"Now that it's so," said the supply officer, "you women get in their uniforms an' we'll all pile in the tank..........next stop, the PSE missile base."

Gascogne (who was driving the tank), Dita, Jura, Meia, Cara, Misty and Barnette were in the PSE uniforms, weapons included while Hibiki and Bart peered out the windows, riding at Gascogne's side, while their stolen tank sped down the sandy road on the way to the base,  
following a map given to them by Real Tobias beforehand. Along the way at one point, the team took to singing Papa Oooom Mow Mow,  
with Dita singing the high parts for the lead line. Then they were singing Kung Fu Fighting before they group saw something up ahead-  
something that spanned 7000 feet square feet and was dotted on the towers and buildings, rocket launch gnatries (each with a huge green chromed missile of amazing design), blinking red warning beacons. And surrounding all that was a 40 foot high concrete wall.

"What a joint," said Jura.

"Looks like Fort Knox," said Dita.

"All those missiles.....," said Meia, "that could strike with no warning."

"Like my old home town after a rumble," said Bart.

"Scary thought," said Barnette.

"How long was it since that place had been built?" said Cara.

"Beats me," said Hibiki. "That ^&$*%# Brittany Pereira.....she's just no good."

"Right now," said Gascogne, "how do we get in?"

"Maybe there is a way," said Misty. "and I may know how to do it."

On that windy five moon night, the tank pulled to a stop at one of the huge armor plated steel doors, and a appendage mounted camera eye popped out from a door in the wall and from it, a terse voice came from it: "State your purpose for coming here."

That was when Misty, in her stolen PSE uniform, pooped up from the open top hatch and said, "You dare question the word and rank of an Imperial officer?"

"Well.....," stammered the camera voice. "....no. You may enter."

Instantly, the door (and a big one at that) opened and the tank drove in, heading down a long concrete tunnel before coming to a stop in a storage bay, lined with drums of chemicals, containers, boxes and crates, with a medium sized steel door at the near end. After parking, Gascogne led the group to the door and opened it, leading into a dimly lit concrete hallway.

"OK," said the supply officer, carrying a big briefcase, "Quiet an' follow me. We've got plenty of those digital solenoid bombs the Brigidier General gave me to knock out those fuel tanks for the missiles; that should scare out those PSE jokers out from the base before it an' those missiles get hit from the bomb blast--BAROOOOOOOM!!!! But first, we've got to check their labs an' learn just what sort of thing they've got that could spell doom for all."

"Let's just get on with it, an' onto the center building of the base," said the hothead. "As a rule, it's where all the important stuff is."

"What a mind, what a mind," said Cara.

"Good point," said Gascogne. "Let's go."

Hiding in the shadows from the base's spy cameras, and behind boxes and drums, as well as in niches, from the passing PSE Imperial officer or more, the group, the women having stashed in their packs, their stolen PSE uniforms, made their way through mazelike halls, searching for something,  
ANYTHING that could lead to a clue as to what sort of project the Empress had in mind. At one point, the group was crossing a narrow catwalk over a vast factory that had dozens of robotic appendages bulding some type of fighter craft mecha and missiles and such, all manned by Imperial techs at the controls.

"What kinda place is it?" said Barnette.

"Judging from what's down below," said Meia, "it's a factory for building fighter craft, some hybrid mecha, even missile weapons, like the ones we saw on their gantries."

"'Nuff weapons like that," said Dita, "an' those jokers could take over every planet in the galaxy."

"I am gettin' scared, just thinkin' of it," said Misty.

"You, gettin' scared?" said Bart. "What bout me?"

"Youse don't know what scared is," said Cara. "Scared is someone runnin' into one of those PSE fatheads, if not their Empress, after what happened to Rabat."

"It's bad 'nuff those &^$*%# PSE retards," muttered Jura, "had to build their own version of Cloud-Cuckoo-Dom, but it's worse that they set up a missile launch base an' who knows what."

"It ain't $^&*#% Cloud-Cuckoo-Dom," grumbled Hibiki, "it's Cloud-Cuckoo-Land, 'y dumb ol' bimbo. Get it right, huh?!?"

"Never mind that," hissed Gascogne, who was using a digital camera similar to the one Paiway used for her imfamous Pai Checks, having just used it on everything she saw below. "I just took plenty of images to hang everyone in the joint. Let's go."

On that note, the Nirvana team reached the other side of the catwalk and entered the next hallway.

Elsewhere in the base, General Tsitra Steg and Major Gie Bele Taltli, long having come back from Cornerstone, wene in one of the dark computer rooms, surrounded by a few screens, computer and spy equipment, when the General said out of the black, "I just had a thought."

"A thought?" echoed the Major.

"That blonde Dread pilot we saw, from the report from the Cygnus' Admiral," said Steg. "I wonder if she MAY had been at one time, one of our own Diamante pilots years ago?"

"What makes you so sure?" said Taltli. "Over the years, we've yet had a pilot that matches the hard copy the Empress attained."

"But we've often over the years had reports of some of our personnel gone missing in action," said Tsitra, "Diamante pilots included. How many files and profiles have we on all Imperial personnel and pilots past and present?"

"Hundreds," replied the Major, "maybe thousands. On the other hand, if you may be right......." Turning to a computer tech, she said, "Run a visual index on all our pilots, and select any and all possible matches. Hurry!!"

"Understood, Major," said the tech, who started typing in the data.

Up ahead, on the right hand side of the hallway, were a set of doors with the PSE logo and below that: BIOGENETIC & MECHA RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT LAB #357. NO ADMITTANCE.

"Must be the place," said Gascogne. "If anything major is in the works, it's got to be here."

With that in mind, the supply officer, opened the door and she and the rest entered--into a chamber that was half phantasmagora, half bizarre and half delerium.......for inside, was a staggering quota of laboratory equiment related to morgues, surgery, cloning and bio genetic mecha; along one wall were stainless steel autoclaves, along another wall were a bank of computers, on one table, test tubes, mecha equipment under construction, some biomech fusion projects on a steel table ready for perfecting and testing and in the center of the vast room, dimly lit by fluro tubes, were several 12 foot high plexiglass cylindrical tanks containing fluid and some munant projects, some biogenetic clones, others bio mecha creations, along with several high voltage equipment that had electrodes that shot out bolts of lightning like jolts here and there......all that would put Frankenstein's laboratory to shame.

"So here's where the Empress comes up with her creations," said Meia.

"Youse think she had built those Harvest creations here 'fore submittin them to those Earth people?" said Cara.

"Could be," said Bart. "There's plenty of junk here that would give anyone nightmares."

"Not to mention prod anyone into throwin' up, blaah," said Dita.

"The way I see it," said Jura, "that Empress could've been the star in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, if she's one genius of a scientist."

"And I say it scares me, just to think of it," said Misty. "All those creatures in them tanks, not even moving."

"Maybe they're zombies," said Hibiki. "That Brittany must use some special resurrection process on them."

"Resurrect what?" said Barnette.

"He means she brings them back to life," said Gascogne, who headed for the computer section with her briefcase, "just like Frankenstein's monster."

"F-F-F-F-F-F-rankenst-st-st-st-st-st-st-stein's m-m-m-m-m-m-monster..............?!!!!?" gasped Dita breathlessly before she fainted, falling on the polished floor, to the shock of the others. Annoyed, Gascogne turned to the team and said testily, "One of you get Sleepin' Beauty up, I found the main computer terminal here."

Meia went to where the collapsed UFO otaku lay and cradled her, shaking her, saying, "Come on, Dita, get up!! You a wuss?!?"

Her eyes flickering open, Dita said deleriously, "What happened....?"

"How stupid can you get?!?" chared the irate Dread leader. "You fainted when Gascogne said 'Frankenstein's monster.'"

Hearing that, Dita sighed out before fainting befor Jura shook her, muttering, "Dita, get up, you crazy oaf!!"

"W-W-W-What's goin' on?" said the UFO otaku, waking up.

"Same as before," replied the blonde diva in frustration. "You fainted when Meia said 'Frankenstein's monster.'"

Once again, Dita fainted, and Meia glowered at Jura, grumbling, "Boy!! Some expert, you're as bad as me!!"

Misty had already shook the UFO otaku awake, saying, "On your feet, bimbo!! We need your help!!"

Awaking, Dita said groggily, "What's happenin' here?"

"You just don't get it, do you?!?" said Misty in a disgusted way. "You fainted when Jura said--"

"Just don't say it!!" said Gascogne, looking back before taking out from her briefcase a laptop computer, a long USB cord and a blank CD ROM disc. "I just found the central main computer network section. With Paiway's universal hacking program in my laptop, we'll tap into the Imperial system and download whatever secrets there may be." Then turning to Dita, she added, "If you wanna be chicken, well, I got a job for you--you stay by the door an' see if there's anyone's comin', if so, say the code word, 'Macarena.'"

"'Macarena?!?'" blurted out the UFO otaku. "I can't remember 'Macarena!!'" Can't the code word just be 'watch out?'"

"But you know how to sing the tune Macarena," said Hibiki.

"So?" said a doubtful Dita.

"If you get stuck," said the hothead, who was getting testy more and more, "just sing the tune an' that should help you remember the code word!! Sheesh!!"

"OK," said the UFO otaku, who took her place at the door while Gascogne plugged one end of the cord into the Imperial network, and the other end into her computer, saying, "Let's just hope Paiway's hacking program is worth the price of admission."

After sticking the blank disc in the drive of the laptop, the supply offiecer ran the hacking program; at first, the screen displayed the PSE logo, with several 12 digit code scrolled below that, only to be replaced by the words in red, INVALID CODE, over and over--util on the 12th try,the words in green CORRECT CODE. ACCESS GRANTED, followed by a download list of files, so it was no wonder Gascogne wasted no time in downloading every single one......

Looking up from her computer desk, the tech called out, "General, come check it out."

Coming over to the screen the tech was pointing to, General Steg and Major Taltli saw it was indeed, Jura in a PSE uniform, decked out with rank decorations,  
as well as her phaser crossbow at her side, with a stoic look to her face. To the right of the screen, several long paragraphs on Jura's data scrolled upward. After taking in all that, the General turned to another officer and said, "Get me the Empress at once."

Gascogne had downloaded 94% of the contents from the Imperial network while Dita stayed by the door, keeping a lookout. 95% had been loaded, 96, 97, 98,  
99, 100%--and that was when Dita spotted two Imperial officers make their way to the door and turned to the others hissing, "Psst! Hey!! Let's hurry!! Uh.....uh.  
M........M......M......Maca........oh, I knew I'd forget that....!!" Then remembering what Hibiki had said, she started singing, "Duh, duh, duh, duh, duh, duh, duh,  
duhduhduhduh, duh, duh, duh, duh, duh, duh, duh, duhduhduhduh, duh, duh, duh, duh, duh, duh, duh, duhduhduhduh, hey, Macarena!!"

Gascogne, who had just packed everything back in her briefcase, turned and said, "Hide!!"

And hide they did, some in autoclaves, some behind control panels and some under tables and between the specimen tanks, just as the two officers entered.

"Did you hear something in here?" said the first officer.

"Maybe some other labtechs," said the second.

"Since when do labtechs sing the Macarena?" said the first.

"Only when they're bored," said the second.

"All the same," said the first officer, "it warrants a look, as per Imperial protocol." From there, she and the second officer prowled and searched everywhere in the lab, Barnette ready with her gun if the enemy found her, but so far, though they came so close to her hiding place, they just moved on until they came back to the door.

"Guess it was just our imagination," said the first officer.

"I told you not to take a nip in the Jagermeister," said the second officer. "Say.......do you smell cigarette smoke here?"

"Maybe it's the chemicals here," said the first. "Well, let's go."

After the officers exited, Gascogne & Co. came from their hiding places, a weight of worry off their minds.

"That was too close," said Meia. "The whole thing almost gave me a heart attack."

"You ain't jokin'," agreed Barnette. "I was almost ready to lose my cool and my mojo at the same time."

"And I almost lost my cigarettes," agreed Hibiki.

Inside her suite in the base, the Empress Brittany was at her desk, typing on her computer keyboard some notes when a projected triangle screen depicting General Steg came out of nowhere, the General saying, "Empress.....we've identified the blonde female Dread pilot we saw."

For Pereira, it seemed the answer had come sooner than she thought, now that the mystery could be solved. "Well, who is she?" she said.

"She's one of our own Diamante pilots thought to be missing in action years ago," replied Tsitra. "Jura Basil Elden, a native of Dredge, a city on Ganymede, one of Jupiter's moons, believed to be a Corporal in the Imperial 440th Diamante Squadron. Was recruited after her parents died and served well until she defected and was branded a traitor."

"Now I remember," muttered the Empress. "I chased her down with my own Diamante....she was a fantastic pilot, given the fact we trained her well, a bona fide ace of aces, but even she was no match for my skills and my magic, not to mention my marksmanship.....I shot her down well, but even our best troopers found no trace of her in the wreck of her fightercraft, so we thought she had perished in the flames and declared her dead in action. We thought she was dead......and all that time she was still alive and we didn't know it. That explains it. And now she's piloting a Dread with the Nirvana crew--I though she not only looked familiar, but that I reconized her flying skills. No wonder I felt like I had seen her before when we first saw her days ago--and no wonder Admiral Voce of the Cygnus was scared......we thought Miss Basil Elden was dead--now she'll wish she was......thanks so much for your help, General."

"Don't mention it," said the uneasy Steg before the screen vanished.

Back in their PSE uniforms, the women took their places at the main fuel tanks for the missiles and they, along with Hibiki and Bart, stuck the time bombs on the sides of the tanks with the bomb's built in magnetic stickers, then ran back in the tanks and drove out from the base, speeding miles away to where Gascogne's ship, Hibiki's Van and the ladies' Dreads were parked, before taking off for the skies; the fact each bomb was set for 12 minutes, they had the advantage.......

However, the Empress was in her suite when a voice came in on the stereo intercom: "Empress, I've got the broadcast from our spy, sound only."

"Channel it to my suite," said Pereira.

"Empress," said the voice of the hidden female," the Nirvana crew did infiltrate our base and they've just planted bombs set for 12 minutes on the missile fuel tanks.  
We'll be heading back to our ships, so as soon as I can, I'll turn on my secret homing device so you can track them."

"Did they plant BOMBS?!?" exclaimed Brittany. "Carry on with your work, I'll get the Emerald Guard to seek those bombs out and defuse them!!"

"Should I alert The Guard to also assassinate the team as well?" said the voice.

"No," said Pereira bluntly." We need them for the ultimate plan at hand. We'll defuse those bombs--just get back to your team without them knowing what just went on."

"Understood, Empress," said the phantom voice before the com went silent--and before the Empress spoke into it, saying "Attention all Imperial Emerald Guard staff,  
there may be bombs planted on our fuel tanks--seek them out and defuse them ASAP. That is all."

But no sooner had Brittany turned off the com, there were distant explosions, followed by the alarms sounding off; at the same moment, a screen with Major Taltli came , saying," Empress, our missiles and fuel tanks exploded before The Emerald Guard had a chance to get to those bombs!! The fire's spreading all over the base!!"

"What?!!!!?" said Pereira. "Bunglers!! Poopheads!! Someone will pay for that!! Heads will ROLL!! Turn on the sprinkler systems and if that don't work, collect up all posessions and secretes and evacuate!!"

But even as the sprinklers systems came on, much of the base buildings and factories were in ruin, due to the fact that the Nirvana crew had also opened a few pipes from the fuel tanks, causing the Pertaline fuel to spill out and spread the fires once ignited. Dozens of tanks blew up in the flames, the biuldings and bases half burt, half drenched from the sprinkler systems. Finally, the chagrined Empress came out in the midst of the chaos and used her magic to call on a tidal wave to drench the whole base with water and put out the fires. When it was all over, Pereira was in a rage, standing with her fists clenched, ordering, "Ready the Hohenzollern at once, along with all our Diamantes!! We must track down that Vandread team for what they did to our base!! Don't they know how much a base costs?!?"

That was when Admiral Xaltocan Chimali ran up to her and said, "Our trackers onboard our flagship just picked up a tracking signal from our operative's homing device;  
they're high in the sky at grid coordinates 327/338."

"Prepare for flight," said Brittany," and make it snappy. Oh, and alert the carrier Plotzensee ao block them off. We'll pincer them."

The fleet of Gascogne's ship, Hibiki's Vanguard and the Dreads were high up in the starry sky, having achieved comm contact with Cornerstone Empire Brigadier General Rael Tobias, they were to rendezvous with his Manta ships before landing onboard the Conerstone Empire War Machine (C.E.W.M.) Synthesis to meet the Empress Vanna Traedi. so far, the team had been in well done and laid back spirits, particularly Hibiki, who smoked another of his cigs while his MP3 player was playing The J. Geils Band's One Last Kiss, the hot head saying, "So, we did a clean getaway?"

"Seems that way, according to Tobias," said the supply officer. "Bouquets and kudos to you all, you all did a splendid task. From what the Brig Gen said to me on the comm, we're to rendezvous with his Manta ships a few yards at gird coordinates 327/338 and we're to follow his ships so we can meet his Empress, Vanna Traedi."

"Vanna Traedi, eh?" said Misty. "What a moniker."

"Hey, Hibiki," said a testy Dita, "will you turn that disrespectful junk off?!?"

"Respect the classics, D.L.," shot back Hibiki," it's The J. Geils Band."

"Youse know," said Cara," ol' Britt Pereira's goin' to be burned when she sees her base an' all those missiles an' creations got toasted."

"Ahh, let her Imperial hide get burnt," said Barnette." Least she an' her bunch can't use her missiles an ' her other creations to spell trouble for the Balderonians, let alone anyone else."

"What chuu do with your share of the reward money when all is said an' done, Jura?" said Meia.

"What else but get some new pumps," said Jura, whose eyes opened wide as two wheels and she blurted, "Oh-oh, another PSE carrier an' it's ahead of us."

It was true. The Pereira Star Empire carrier Plotzensee was bearing down on them, its cannons aimed and its Diamantes ready to launch, and inside the bridge tower, was a redheaded version of Gascogne named Admiral Spaino Sejinator and a 50 something brunette, General Zuba Cyde, who approached the Admiral and said, "Admiral, the Vandread team is flying right into our trap. It's only a matter of time before the Hohenzollern comes up from behind."

"In that case," said Spaino," hunting season is open. Stand by to launch."

"Try to stay calm," said Gascogne." Remember your training when we took out that first carrier."

"I think that may be a bit tougher than it was then," said Jura. "Look behind you!!"

How right Jura was--for coming on behind the team was the carrier flagship Hohenzollern, in hot pursuit, ready to use its weapons and fightercraft."

"The end to a perfect night, " grumbled Hibiki." That %#*^$& Pereira Star Empire!!!!!!!"

"Well, what chuu goin' to do?" said Misty.

"What we goin' to do?" said Barnette. "We turn chicken an' scram outa here--there's too much firepower an' ships twixt those carriers."

"Nonsense!!" shot back Meia. "We've been through worse scrapes before. I say we take then on till we can escape."

"But CAN it be done?" said a fearful Dita.

"Sure, it'll be easy as pie," said Cara, "the nuts, duck soup."

"In that case," said Gascogne," I entrust the rest to you, Meia. And remember to smile, smile, smile, go it?"

"Will do," said the head Dread pilot.

Behid Gascogne, Bart could only mutter, "Godspeed....."

Turning her attention to the rest, Meia said crisply, "Don't fire till you see the greens of their ships. Try to wear them down, but don't kill them, not even in defense."

"ROGER!!" said the other pilots.

With his MP3 player playing the Brothers Johson's Stomp, Hibiki muttered, "Here we go again, partner....."

"Empress," said Admiral Chimali, "the Dread team is moving in to strike both our ships!!"

"They must be bloody daft to do that, given the odds at hand!!" said Brittany.

"That, or they've got no fault insurence," said General Steg.

"No matter," said Pereira. "Pass the word all over the ship as well as to the Plotzensee to prepare at once and launch our Diamantes-  
in fact, prepare my Diamante as well. Battle stations!!"

"Battle stations!!" echoed Xaltocan, "Pass it on!!"

While the klaxons of the two huge ships sounded, guns and other weapons were readied, Imperial pilots climbed into their fighter ships,  
some head crew members running and shouting, "All right, let's go!! Let's get it together!! Sound off!! Move it!!" Finally everything was ready,  
while in the flagship's hangar, the Empress was ready in her Diamante, her comm on at all times, while she spoke in it: "Is everything ready?"

"All set, said the Admiral, "and in both ships; Plotzensee Admiral Sejinator is standing by."

"Begin at once," said Brittany. "LAUNCH!!"

"Understood!!" replied Chimali.

All over the carriers, fighters launched and cannons, missiles, torpeadoes and seismic bombs were in active service, ready to engage the small supply ship, the Vanguard and the Dreads. And piloting her fighter like a wild Tomcat Top Gun, was Pereira who spoke to her wing crew, "Stay in striking formation and be careful what you may shoot at, got it? Cowardice is no option!!"

"UNDERSTOOD!!" chorused the Diamante pilots, among which was Plotzensee Major Si Riame Insuccesso, who led her Diamante squadron.

"Here they come again," said Meia.

"An' here we go again," said Hibiki, who put out his cig. "OK, Cara, time for your debut!!"

"'Bout time!!" said Cara. "Youse set, Echo City?"

"Just call me Hibiki, OK?" said the hothead, "An' sure, I am ready!! Kick it!!"

Instantly, the Van flew into the top hatch of Cara's Dread and it changed into a jet black bat winged plane like craft, giving birth to Vandread Cara.

"A star is born," said Gascogne.

Inside, Hibiki and Cara were laying down on their stomachs in their piloting compartments, like bunk beds, flying their craft, the latter saying, "Yo, Hibiki, youse ready to lock an' load?"

"Yup," repiled the hothead. "Let's see what our new Dread can do."

Pushing a purple crystal button on here dashboard, Cara had the main body (but not the cockpit and engines) spin round and round, firing its cannons foward and aft, laying down it those paths, several careless Diamante fighters, their pilots ejecting from them in their cockpit pods and flying off to safety. That hail of phaserbolts, along with a few missiles, torpedoes and seismic bombs mowed down a line of enemy ships and the two carriers'  
weapon emplecents which were blasting at the weaving Dreads.

"Now that is what I call the first hit of the season," said a grinning Gascogne.

"Yay, Hibiki an' Cara did it again!!" cheered Bart.

"Our Vandread equipment gets better an' better," said Meia who added, "Barnette!! Be careful, you got an enemy torpedo on your tail!!"

"Think I don't know that?" shot back the gunner who, just as Jura did, lured the torpedo till she came to a stop near the Plotzensee's twelve engine cluster, then waited a few seconds before fly out from the path of the heat seeking torpedo which took out seven of the twelve engines, shaking up the carrier and its crew something fierce, to the chagrin of not only Admiral Sejinator, but also The Empress, who was burned up over these turn of events, yet she marveled at the debut of Vandread Cara and muttered, "Amazing!! I wonder....could those Pyxises of mine have anything to do with all that? But it's impossible....those eight ships taking out my huge fleet--and two carriers, no less.......perhaps Admiral Voce WAS right......."

The battle raged on and on (and with Hibiki's MP3 player playing Paul Mc Cartney & Wings' Hi, Hi, Hi in the background), each of the Dreads engaging the enemy, dodging the PSE's firepower at each turn, while Brittany Pereira increasinly getting livid over the gradual defeat of her wingmates, yet admiring the skill in the Vandread team--in particular, Hibiki, who said, "OK, Cara, watch your back, it's time I join Dita for Vandread Dita."

"'Bout %#*^&$ time," said Dita.

"Bust the PSE's tacos, OK?" said Cara, winking.

"Be careful, C.S.," said the hothead, before he detached from Cara's Dread, turning into his Vanguard, while from her vantage point in her Diamante,  
Pereira muttered, "Hard to believe the scion of Lord Granpa and Lady Granma, an immature grouch.....could turn out to be a virtuoso fighter pilot.  
perhaps maybe we've underestimated the famous Hibiki Tokai......I may have my spy keep an eye on him now and then......"

On the way to Dita's dread, however, the hothead, for his part, placed a whoopie cusion on his lap, muttering, "Sid on it....," all of which was well in the Empress' sights, before she declared, "Hibiki Tokai, it's time for a sample of what I can do....." With that in mind, she gestured with her right hand, her thumb, index and center fingers extended, and the vanguard swerved to one side, tumbling round and round in the sky, laughing out, "You're finished, Hibiki Tokai!! HA!! HA!! HA!!"

"Hibiki!!" called out Dita. "Hang on, I'll get you!!"

"Pull out, Hibiki, pull out!!" said Meia.

"YIPE!! yelled out the hothead. "HELP!! SOS!! MAYDAY!!"

"SOH!!" said Misty, "Save Our Hibiki!!"

"Already on it," said Gascogne, who gunned her ship at the spinning Vanguard, just as Dita was, on the other side--that is, until Brittany switched on her onboard comm and said to trhe supply officer, "I can see you, Gascogne Rheingou.....but can you see me?"

"Brittany Pereira.....," muttered Gascogne grimly.

"Quite right," said Pereira. "Come now, G.R.......you bloody knew we'd meet again, sooner or later, thus completing the circle, and yet, there's some old scores to settle....starting now."

With that, the Empress gestured at the supply officer's ship, only bolts of lighting shot out from her fingers, which hit the ship, sending sparks through it, and Gascogne and Bart as well, the latter yelling, "YIPE!! I feel like a lightbulb!!"

"You ain't jokin'!!" said the officer.

"Ain't it bloody shocking, eh?" taunted Brittany. "And it's just a start."

While Gascogne and Bart distracted the Empress' attention however, Dita and her Dread rocketed in time and met up with Hibiki's Van, forming into Vandread Dita--

--and inside, the UFO otaku wound up sitting on the whoopie cushion on the hothead's lap, the said cushion giving out a BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP!!!! and causing Dita to scream out and jump up, banging her head on the cockpit windscreen in the process.

"OUCH!!" screamed Dita. "Hibiki Tokai, you %*#$^&!! After I just saved you BUT-TOCKS?!?"

"All's fair in love an' war," quipped the hothead.

"All the same, it ain't funny!!" shot back Dita. "That was downright mean!!"

"So what else is new?" said Hibiki. "Let's just save Gascogne from the jam she's in!!"

"And how," agreed the UFO otaku who gunned Vandread Dita, before firing up its spear blaster; it hit Brittany's Diamante from behind, which caused the fighter to spin all over the sky in the direction of one of the Hohenzollern's three hangar bay decks, before the cockpit pod ejected, the rest of the Diamante blowing up, and the hapless sorceress sovergin known as Brittany Pereira to exclaim, "What's gonig on here?!? What hit me?!!?" before she skidded to a stop on the deck of the second center hangar deck, and staggered out from her cockpit pod, muttering, "How could I lose a battle?!? Whoever did that to me......will DIE!!"

Back in Vandread Dita, Hibiki said, "Bull's eye," while Gascogne regained control of her ship.

"You see?" said a perky Dita who turned 'round and kissed the disgusted hothead. "Never underestimate a UFO otaku."

With Hibiki's MP3 player playing Sam Sham & The Pharoahs' Wooly Bully, the battle went on still, only there were cracks showing the the enemy capital ships and their fighters,  
the Plotzensee's frizzy blonde haired Major Insuccesso who chickened out and fled the rapidly disintergrating battle, flying back to the Plotzensee. During that time, Hibiki had broke off with Dita and joined up with Jura and formed Vandread Jura, the red crab like ship steeling itself into battle on a headlong path towards the Hohenzollern's bridge tower, to the distress of the blonde diva who shrieked, "Hibiki, stop!! That ain't no way to nail those jokers!!"

"Not if you hit the firing button right 'bout....," said the hothead, ".....now."

Sensing a strategy in mind, Jura did just that, saying, "I get it," before stabbing the firing button, firing the Vandread's omnidirectional phasers which not only took out a handful of Diamantes, their pilots fleeing, but also the radar, tracking, communications dishes and weapon emplacements of the two carriers, one of the bolts hitting the flagship carrier's bridge tower, which shook up Brittany & Co. in the worst way and much of the Vandread crew cheering.

Sweeping up the hothead in a big hug and showering kisses all over, the blonde Dread diva chirped, "WHOOOOOO-HOOOOOOOO!!!!!! Just like The 4th Of July!!"

"THAT," said Hibiki, "is how you nail those jokers."

Suddenly, a new voice came in on the Vandread team's comm channel--that of the PSE Empress: "Jura Basil Elden....so we meet again. Run, but you can't hide."

Hearing that, Jura gasped, trembling in fear, and breathing out, "The Empress Brittany Pereira......!!"

"How come you're still alive, eh, Jura?" said Brittany. "We thought you fell in that abyss when I shot you down, years ago. We thought you were dead, traitor, now you might wish you WERE!!"

Everyone in the team heard that, tears almost welling in Jura's eyes, Meia, Dita and Misty with their eyes wide, Barnette ashen quiet, Bart slumped against the wall, Cara tense, Gascogne with a grim look on her face and Hibiki clenching his fists before saying, "Hey you STUU------PID woman, why don't you and your PSE femme punks get lost?!?"

"Who dares try to back sass the Empress of the Pereira Star Empire?!?" challenged Pereira hotly.

"That would be me," said the hothead, recklessly, "Hibiki Back Sass Tokai."

"Is that so?" said the Empress. "So, you're the famous Hibiki Tokai of song and story, of fame and reputation, spwaned from Taarak's Lord Granpa and Mejere's Lady Granma.  
I had a feeling we'd meet sooner or later, given the circumstances of the new war at hand--a war where the hunter gets captured by the game, a war where fools rush in. You've got no concept as to what you and your fellow L7 Vandread sods happen to be up against. They say your message must NOT contain hateful or sexual material--and yet, my Empire is is much evil and stronger than hateful and sexual material. You insignificant, rag tag rank and file sod idiots!! You're all L7, inexperienced, when it comes to dealing with my Empire and especially me, for I am a genius!!"

"Maybe so, charged the hothead, "but we just kicked your butts twice an' burned down your base!!" After that, he blew a raspberry.

"And with it," stated Pereira, "all my bio and mecha creations. Why'd you do that for?!? That was the unkindest cut of all, coming from you L7 bastards, destroying the supreme creations of a C moon genius, who is also a sorceress, a sorceress whose great power is also the secret to remain ageless, to possess what all mankind and womankind long searched for eons--eternal life, which inhibits our aging process, as it does mine, which I why I've lived for eons and centuries when other people have died.....in fact, what happened to your ship, and Gascogne's as well is just a sample as to how potent my sorceress power is, not to mention my marksmanship with any weapon, as well as my supreme piloting skills in any fightercraft. Few, like Jura and you here carry some of my skills, yet it's doubtful if you can even match mine!!" Then directing some of her words to Jura, she added, "You may have been the best Diamante pilot, Ms. Basil Elden, but even so, you can't try to be on the same level as me........"

Jura tried her best to hold back her tears, while Hibiki and the rest fumed, the hothead saying, "So that is how a devil lives, taunting people and making them cry!!"

"Coward!!" said Meia.

"You're vulgar, you know that?" said Dita.

"I don't like it," said Misty.

"You bastard!!" said Bart.

"Beat it, youse!!" said Cara.

"Dirty no good $^&*#%.......!!" said Gascogne.

"Fathead ego monger!!" said Barnette.

"Quiet!!" barked the Empress who took to using her shock magic on the Vandread crew which left them shaken up a bit. "Show some manners and C moon respect towards me!!"

"Empress," broke in Admiral Xaltocan, "we've detected hordes of Cornerstone Empire Mantas, surrounding from behind our carriers!!"

"Then we've got to depart ASAP," said Brittany. Then to the Vandread crew, "Another time, L7 sods."

Instantly, all the Diamantes (what remained of them anyway) and the Hohenzollern and the Plotzensee headed their sperate ways, taking off fast, before the Manta ships showed up, Brigidier General Tobias saying over the comm, "Seems we got here right on time, considering you could take care of yourself."

For Gascogne & Co., their troubles were over.

So far the Nirvana crew pulled through that round. They got off lucky, yet I can't help but wonder if their second victory over the evil Empire was too easy? And was the Empress right, that the dude crazy, fashion loving voluptuous Jura was once one of the Diamante pilots for the evil Empire? What of the downloaded contents Gascogne stole from the Empire's computer network? What secrets do they contain? And what of Bart and General Steg? I mean, since their first meeting in the bathroom hall, it's only a matter of time that they come to terms with the fact that it's love at first sight, or something like that.

--a440

Next: Chapter 11: Fitting The Pieces 


	12. Fitting The Pieces

CHAPTER 11: FITTING THE PIECES

They say the whole world sucks, and they may be right. In the case of Hibiki and his bunch, their worlds of Taarak, Mejere and the earth itself all suck, with all the problems they've had so far. What 'bout that, sports fans? And then there's the PSE crawling out from the woodwork to make things worse.....

Back on Balderon, within the burnt ruins of the Imperial base, the Empress Brittany Pereira, her Imperial officials and a legion of The Emerald Guard were surrounding a sorry bunch of women-  
the Emerald Guard at the base that failed to disarm the bombs on the fuel tanks and rockets, the Plotzensee's Admiral Spaino Sejinator and the cowardly Major Si Riame Insuccesso, the Empress glowering at them, and starting with, "A fair but bumbling woman, you were, Admiral, but it seems you were made of fail. Major, I warned you that cowardice was no option, yet you chose to flee from the battle--not up to Imperial standards. And to the handful of the Imperial troops known as The Emerald Guard, the ones that failed to disarm those bombs, you weren't quick like a bunny.  
How could you be so slow in stopping those bombs? Speed is the key to be Emerald Guard troops,  
and you know The Empire detests failure. To all, to all, to all, way to fail. I'm finished with you. You've all failed me for the last time, since failure is like gambling--the house always wins, and I am the house.  
So----as your Empress, I cast you out...........into failure eternal, the dark place known as Michilan. Put simply, those that refuse, much less fail, by the law, WILL DIE BY THE LAW!!!!"

With a sweep of her right hand, thumb, index and center fingers extended, Pereira gestured to the group of condemned women----and sprouting up and out from the ground, came four cololums of flame which spun round the group, converging in on them, and burning them into ashes, to the shock and horror of the other Imperial women who gasped and murmured in fear.

"What a waste........," said Brittany. "Maybe next time....." Then turning to a frightful General Cyde,  
she said, "General Cyde?"

"Present," said the General, saluting.

"Make ready your crew and the Plotzensee carrier for flight and pass that on to the other carriers as well"  
said the Empress. "You're in charge of the Plotzensee now, ADMIRAL Cyde."

"Understood," said the new Admiral, who ran off to carry out the order, while Brittany turned to her officials and said, "Prepare our carrier for flight. We'll follow the Nirvana with all ships to what ever trajectory they plan to head to, hopefully to the pyramid where we wait till the Nirvana crew uses the map and brings what is ours--then we'll claim it when the time is right. Carry on."

"Understood," said Admiral Xaltocan.

Turning to the rest of the women nearby, Pereira added, "Just don't fail me again----remember what just happened to Sejinator, Insuccesso and the handful of Emerald Guard lowlifes!!"

"UNDERSTOOD!!" said the troops before running off in fear.

Approaching the Empress, General Steg said cautiously, "You sure that was the right thing to do to those failures?  
I mean, it seemed a bit barbaric."

Her eyes narrowing, Brittany said, "You saying the justice I used was of Draconian standards? Surely you jest."

"Well......, no.......," said Tsitra, who tried to stay calm.

"Anyone that ain't with me," said Pereira flatly, "is against me. Such is the end of the line for my enemies, as it was long ago in the old days of then Soviet Russia, when a man named Josef Dugushvili was reborn as Josef Stalin, the man of steel, when he set up his dreaded secret police retinue known as the NKVD, to form The Great Purge to eredicate those that were against his ideals and ambitions......you saying I treated those I convicted unfairly?"

"No again," replied the General tentively.

"And that is as it should be," said the Empress. "You've got your orders. It's time we depart. At least we've still got all the original plans, notes, blueprints and designs onboard the Hohenzollern."

"Understood, Empress," said Steg.

With the Mantas leading, the supply ship, the Van and the Dreads were in deep space, heading towards the huge gas cloud the Nirvana crew first saw when they first came out from hyperspace. It was in swirls of purple and blue and strung out in places. To Hibiki, whose MP3 player was now playing The T-Bones' No Matter What Shape (Your Stomach's In), it looked like a gothic colored fogbank in outer space. Lighting a cigarette, he could only ponder on the many things on his mind like the PSE's latest coup, the team's latest victory, and foremost, the fact the Empress had taunted Jura, claiming that she had once served the evil Empire and as a Diamante pilot no less--and that was when Barnette broke into his reverie saying, "Hey, poop-a-doop, clue me in on somethin'."

"Like what?" said the Van pilot.

"Like when the Empress called us L7 and she claimed she was C moon," said the gunner. "What's all that mumbo jumbo mean?"

"Simple," replied the hothead. "L7 means to be square, unhip, since the letter L and the number 7 form a square, whereas C moon, so the pundits say, is said to be the opposite of L7, the C and the cresent moon forming a circle. Go figure."

"That so, eh?" said Meia. "I got to remember that."

"If youse ask me," said Cara, "that Brittany Pereira is the only square 'round here, after all the crummy stuff she did."

"Seems that way, don't it?" said Dita. "What do you think, Misty?"

"I ain't sure," replied the newcomer. "You'd think the PSE was organized."

The fleet of ships soon entered the cloud, a swirl of of glowing colors, with what looked like stars mixed in, and penetrated that mess for a few minutes when Gascogne broke the quiet, saying, ""All that gas just to hide a War Machine,  
it must be a huge thing."

"That it is," said Rael. "Each War Machine, in which we've got 87 of them, is the size of Jupiter, equipped with 12 reactor cores and generators, ecosystems, water and air supply plants, as well as our own fuel mine."

"Almost like a living planet, yey you move it 'round like a giant spacecraft," said Bart. "like a death star."

"Like a planet would be a better term," said Meia. "We've had planet shaped stations before near Mejere."

"Better," said Tobias, "than what we've got here?"

No sooner had he said that, the ships broke through to the center of the cloud; at first, there was just a black void--until, shimmering out from some stealth fold generator field, was something gargantuan, indeed, the size of Jupiter. Half machine,  
half planet, the top half was six black spire like towers shaped like salt shakers, with crystalline red orange domes, like the geodesic, only in a crystal texture. Below that were several shorter pipes, towers and a equator like rim, which had cannons,  
dish antennae and huge hangar ports running along its surface. And below that was a bowl shaped half of a brown meteor like planet, with some craters, one huge crater near the left hand bottom, and in the back, twelve gimbaled nozzle engines.

Upon apporoaching nearer, the team could see themselves dwarfed by the size of the machine's equator section and along one side, paint stenciled, The Cornerstone Empire logo, comprised of a triangle with the symbol of Saturn in the center, with the Empire's name below that bilingually in Balderonian and english. Overall, what the Nirvana crew was seeing,  
was: Zaar Conasto' Impri Soc Mac'hin Inoodevu (The Cornerstone Empire War Machine Synthesis). Below the symbol was the bilingual name of the War Machine: C.E.W.M. Synthesis, followed by: Damascus Class War Machine Sub Tropical Death Star Creation Model No. KJW05-104094 Registry No. 268170.

"Wow.....," said Gascogne breathlessly.

"What a craft....," said Bart.

"Y' mean what a death star," said Hibiki.

"It's HUGE........," said Misty.

"Incredible.......," said Meia.

"Staggering....," said Jura.

"Fascinating.......," said Dita.

"It could contain a crew of 70.000 times that of twenties of thousands," said Cara.

"Follow me, all," said the Brigadier General before he added into his com, "Brigadier General Tobias to C.E.W.M. Synthesis, we seek jurisdiction to land."

"Jurisdiction granted, Brigadier General," said the voice on the other end. "use Hangar 555 806-1 Y-1, Level ST 12112."

"Understood," said Tobias.

Nearing the equator section of the Synthesis, the group could see countless hangar ports, each port equipped with energy based vacuum sheilds, which allowed ships to enter and exit, yet prevented the War Machine's air from rushing out into the zero atmosphere of space and causing the Synthesis' interior to depressurize, along with twelve layered magna steel doors. Above and below the lines of ports were thousands of cannons on turrets, guarding the giant comet like structure. Right now, the Mantas led the Nirvana ships into one of the cavernlike hangar bay ports, which was lined with huge intermodal containers bearing The Cornerstone Empire logo, fuel drums, boxes and other Manta ships, before they all landed in a empty spot on the black polished steel deck of the hangar.

Soon as the group and the Manta pilots came out from their ships, a group of Imperial officers arrived, led by a 30 something blonde with a lot of decorative ranking symbols on her black uniform who approached Gascogne and said, "Gascogne Rheingau? I am Regional Govenor Mallory Traedi of the Cornerstone Empire War Machine Synthesis. My daughter is waiting for you."

"Your daughter?" said Hibiki.

"Her Illustrious, The Empress Vanna Traedi," said Mallory. "Indeed, she's my daughter, and you must be the Hibiki Tokai I heard so much from Brigadier General Tobias here. Quite a reputation for a brilliant pilot."

"Well......., thanks.......," stammered the Van pilot.

"If you all may follow me," said the Govenor, "I'll bring you to our Empress."

With Mallory leading, the group went down a silver gray hall, passing C.E. staffers not only in black but also gray, brown, white, green, even red uniforms, past elevator tubes, listening to public address voices bilingually in the gutteral Balderonian and english, crossing along a vast gallery spanning a deep reactor shaft with one of the Synthesis' screw turbine driven power generators that supplied the electrical power, the turbine within the Pertaline ore pile at the bottom and down more hallways before they reached the War Machine's control bridge, a rotunda like chamber of several people at the controls, a telescreen on one far wall, with an ops control desk below that, a tall brunette woman operating it, a navigation table to the right and nearby, a group of people including a redhead woman with long hair and a square stoic face, a second redhead who was a teen who looked fresh faced and yet a third redhead who looked like a redheaded white version of Mariah Carey, wearing 'round her neck a chain with twelve red crystal pentagons hanging from it, as well as a chain with a green triangle pendant, with The Cornerstone Empire symbol embossed on it; turning to the group, she said, "How you doin'? Name's Vanna Traedi, Empress of The Cornerstone Empire, an' they say I am in charge of the ol' rodeo here. Shalom--it's Hebrew for greetings; y' see, my mom, Mallory here, is Balderonian, who married a Terran years ago, so I was born half Balderonian an' half Terran--or is it the other way 'round? Oh well. You must be Hibiki Tokai, Gascogne Rheingau, Misty Cornwell, Cara Staam, Dita Liebely, Meia Gisborn and the one an' only Jura Basil Elden."

"Yup," said Hibiki. "an' Gascogne's the Mighty Mouse of our rat pack here."

"An' you better believe it," said the Nirvana supply officer.

"No kiddin', eh?" said Vanna. Gesturing to the officers--her mother the Govenor, a redhead who looked like Kirsty Waay, the brunette helmswoman,  
the navigator, who looked like a bespectacled John De Lancie, a blonde gal at the tracking section, a black man, a mature blonde woman with long curls, a 17 year old redheaded teen and a 18 year old blonde to red to brunette teen nearby--she introduced each one in turn respectively, "My mom, Regional Govenor Mallory Traedi you know. She's General Jessica Per, the helmswoman's Ensign Gospodin Polkovnik, there's Navigator Cid Dorn, then there's our tracking officer Weg Balderon, the black man's our Head Medical Officer, Dr. Nero Pilate, Major Kolid Fendleman, my niece and Admiral, Xaan Traedi Marchetti, and Head Engineer Jacinda Sterry, who's the first and only Terran here--she's from the Earth, from her home nation of Austrailia."

"From the earth?" said Meia.

"Too right, mate," replied Jacinda, a slight grin on her face. "long, long before the dark times...........before the Harvest. I was lucky, having been frozen in a stastis pod at the Woomera Space Program in Oz, prior to shooting me out into space, before those Harvester bastards took over everything; I was lucky they found me drifting near their War Machine before they took me in. Having reconized my talent for knowing all that is scientifical and such, I was enlisted as their engineer for the Synthesis, and that, as they say, is that--or words to that effect."

"And I thought I was the only quick frozen Rip Van Winkle," said Misty.

"Anyhoo," said Vanna," I heard you risked your butts to download some valuable secrets from The Pereira Star Empire and burnt down their missile an' lab base--an' on your lunch break, no less. Well, Jaycee--Jacinda, that is--will help you with patching your computer into ours so we can all see just what we reaped from the enemy farm."

Just then, a voice was heard on an audio comm: "Communications annex to bridge, we've got and audio/visual communique coming in from the Nirvana nearby."

"Channel it onscreen to the bridge," said Empress Vanna into a nearby liquid crystal diode (LCD) template like comm.

For a moment there was pause before the interior of the Nirvana's bridge, along with the faces of Capt. Magno Vivian and First Mate B.C. Caressa came onscreen, the capitan saying, "'Bout time we heard from you."

"The famous Capitane Magno will be pleased to know," said Vanna, "that all went well, so you can scratch one enemy base and a discful of secret data;  
we were just setting up so we could check out our digital booty."

"Did it truly work out well, Gascogne?" said the boss.

"Those PSE bums didn't even know what hit them, boss," said the supply officer. "We whupped their butts before they could say 'Ticonderoga'--that is,  
if you could say 'Ticonderoga.'"

"I knew you could pull it off," said Magno. "You all get a gold star."

"In that case," said Vanna, "let's arrange for the communications annex to encode and transmit to the Nirvana, the computer contents so even their crew can see it."

Minutes later, with Jacinda's help, Gascogne had patched her lap top into a USB buss plug hub section in one of the terminal panels, the supply officer at her laptop keyboard, the Aussie engineer at her own keyboard, who typed in her entry, and said, "OK, mate, do your thing."

Typing at her keyboard, Gascogne said, "It's showtime," before everyong turned to the Synthesis' main telescreen, as did the Nirvana crew, staring at theirs.......and with Pink Floyd's On The Run playing in the background, everyone was treated to the ultimate tour de force of secrets ever witnessed.  
To begin with, the screens showed dozens of diagrams and blue prints of all the Harvester ships, from the small minions, drones, Vandread and Nirvana clones to the ones that showed up at the different planets that Hibiki had bested, from the capital ships like the one that Gascogne had commandeered to the drones that did their worst to the Melanus, to the giant flagship with the giant cannon, from the Diamante fighter craft to the Minotaur class carriers, to the weapons, to cannons and mecha, from missiles and plasma torpedoes, down to the bio mecha and bio clone creations, prototype and original, to bio weapons like viruses for germ warfare purposes, to chemicals for warfare as well as new fuels and power sources for reactor core purposes--along with the Red, Green and Blue Pyxises as well. On and on it went, all so staggering for anyone to take in, especially Hibiki, who could hardly believe that all that had been created by one woman--a woman that was a genius and an ageless sorceress that was a devil of a pilot.....and a killer.

"So.......," said Meia, "it WAS Ms. Pereira that created The Harvest.......and the Pyxises as well.......astounding......"

"B.P., you dirty no good %*#$^&," muttered Gascogne.

"I never knew........," said Misty.

"She's a bad egg," said Dita.

"Bad ain't the word for it," said Barnette, "she's a devil--and a genius......"

"Oh boy....," said Cara.

"All that time," said Jura, "an' I never knew.......what chuu think, Hibiki?"

As it turned out, the hothead was transfixed at what he saw of the onscreen diagrams as if he had been hypnotized, muttering, "SHHHHH!! DA BABY IZ SWEEPING......!!" Which prompted the diva to shake the Van pilot by his shoulder and call out, "Hey, revellie, H.T.!! What's the matter with you?!?"

"Uh," said Hibiki thickly, "what round is it? Someone call the fuzz.........G-U-N-P-O-W-D-E-R. Duh, tobacco!!" Then he snapped out from it just as the tune finshed, along with the contents of the stolen downloads. "I knew it!!" he said, coming back to his sober self. "It sure explains a lot behind that crummy PSE Empress."

"I should say so," said Magno. "and all it took was one ageless brilliant sorceress to create all that, including the secret of the Vandread factor."

"Seems she designed all that before getting together with her Earth colleagues," said B.C., "and from there built those Harvest monstrosities along with the PSE fleet afterwards when the earth went under all that pollution. It sure answers a lot."

"Even if she's a genius," said Vanna, "the stuff she created ain't likely to hold up a candle to the supreme technology of Balderon."

"We Balderonians," said Mallory, "prided ourselves with cutting edge advanced science and technology for decades, as the finest in the galaxy, earning a reputation that achvied immortal fame."

"It's a safe guess," said General Per, "that Pereira must've picked up on our prowess durning her travels, then took them with her back to earth, and refined them to her own expertise."

"From all that," said Major Fendleman, "she created the Harvest and her Empire."

"For someone that ain't no Balderonian," said Admiral Tradei Marchetti, "she could've been a valuable benefit to our cause, that is, if she wasn't evil......"

"And all it took was the creation of one of her crystals Pyxises," said Dr. Pilate, " give her immortality and a lot of sorceress power, rivaled only by our CTI chi."

"Not what I'd call," said Ensign Polkovnik, "a likable soul."

"She never was, from the start anyway," said Officer Balderon.

"So what's the next move?" said Navigator Dorn.

"I say we help and protect these Vandread people," replied Vanna. "We'll shadow and give support to the Nirvana crew, on account of, it's doubtful if they can take out the whole Pereira Star Empire by themselves. After all, Brittany is a high caliber Empress."

"Agreed," said Magno. "Right now, we've got to get to that one tomb or whatever to get that Pyramid key so we can claim the green Pyxis before the PSE does."

"Then let's get started," said Brigadier General Tobias.

Long after Gascogne submitted the digital snaphots of the enemy base, and the Empress Vanna gave the Vandread team a complete tour of the vast interior of the Synthesis--from the Pertaline mines to the deep yawning reactor shafts, to the living suites to the Imperial troop barracks, from the shopping squares to the food courts--the Nirvana was in hyperspace again, followed by the flagship War Machine for support and protection, having deployed another War Machine, the Pellicci, to orbit Balderon and look after the giant planet. Right now, Hibiki spent much of his time smoking cigs and getting high on cough syrup while seeing on his plasma screen, the criticially acclaimed TV series Animals Close Up, With A Wide Angled Lens. But when he was sober, one thing was always running through his mind and it wasn't just on the secrets of the Empress Pereira's creations and her Harvester fleet, and what not.........it was mostly also on Jura, when it came to her supposed past, according to Brittany. Was she right? HAD Jura once been one of those enemy pilots years ago? Or had the whole thing been one half baked story, a hoax? But then, having seen those enemy pilots, with their virtuoso piloting expertise, which matched that of Jura's Dread flying skills...........

Nah. It couldn't be.

Or COULD it?

Shrugging off the gnawing thought, the hothead put the doubtful thought aside.....that is, until when the ships came out from hyperspace for a stopover at a nearby planet which had a few asteroids encircling it. At the suggestion of Magno the boss, the Vandread team was sent out to patrol that section and to to do some recon work on the planet.

It was at that point, that the Van pilot, in his Vanguard, his MP3 player doing Planet P's Static, was zipping in between the asteroids, determined not to wind up getting junctioned by any of Dita nor Jura's Dreads; in fact, those two, had been relentlessy chasing the hothead, the former saying, "Come on, Hibiki,  
don't be stuck up!!" and the latter saying, "Come on, don't play hard to get!!"

Finally Hibiki found a dark cave in the largest asteroid and zoomed into it, before the Dreads of Dita and Jura flew past outside the passage, the two griping over how their quarry had eluded them. That done, the hot head took a last drag from his dying cig before breathing, "Safe at last.......," before laying back at ease.

But what the Van pilot didn't count on, was that there was an open passage at the other end of the tunnel--

--and it was there that Jura's Dread had just come 'round the other side of the asteroid, along with the passage, and that was when the blonde diva spotted the Vanguard hidden inside, before she said, "Aha........!!" and flew down the tunnel, uniting with the Van and forming Vandread Jura from behind, before the mechanic had time to react--and that was when she swept up the Van pilot in a squeeze, squealing, "You're mine!!" smothering the hothead with kisses, before finishing with one deep french kiss on his mouth. When she had finished, Hibiki grumbled, "I thought I told you I ain't cut out to be no babymaker."

"Think I don't know that?" said the now sorrowful Dread pilot, her face looking like she was ready to cry, as she let go of the Van pilot and added, "We need to talk--and it's not how to make a baby."

"I don't follow you," stated the hothead. "In fact, you've been moping since we took on the PSE jokers over Balderon, and since the Empress taunted you sayin' you were once one of those Imperial pilots a long time ago. You once in cahoots with the ol' PSE? I say ol' B.P. lied to you just to get your goat."

"Somehow, I don't think so," said the blonde, sounding like she was on a breakdown. "I thought long ago, that I had buried my past for good then.......how was I to know the Empress Brittany would dig it back up? Anyhow, I had a feeling you and the others would be pondering over that revelation, but, all joking aside,  
for the first time, if not the only time, Ms. Pereira was tellin' the truth.......years ago, I WAS once one of The PSE's pilots, flying the elte fightercraft known as Diamantes--Spanish for diamond, because of the fact that they look like diamonds--an' serving as a Major in the Imperial 440th Diamante Squadron, onboard the Empress' carrier and flagship, the Hohenzollern, years before there even was a war between the genders of Taarak and Mejere. Believe you me, I hated the idea of serving an evil empire, particularly when they and their Empress murdered my parents, but circumstances forced me to." Here, tears seemed to be just welling up in Jura's green eyes before she added, "It was such circumstances that tore from me for good, my childhood, my family, almost my friendship, and the only life I treasured for so long.....before the Empire changed everything for me......which is where my story starts, back when I was a girl, living in the beautiful neon city of Dredge, on Ganymede.............."

Spanning larger than Vegas, Nevada and surrounding a spire like flat mountain (think, Devil's Tower in Wyoming) on which there was a palace atop it, and with a high white stucco wall surrounding the city, Dredge, with its low buildings and skyscrapers, all of stucco and decorated at the trim, sides and windows and doors with different colored neon tubes, gave the appearence of a Vegasesque skyline that rivaled New York's Broadway White Way, with lit up signs,  
video screens, lush gardens, waterfalls and rivers, standing out amid the dusty city desert streets, now full of cheerful people, children playing, hawkers selling their wares, cars driving up and down those streets, with the faint outline of Jupiter in the night sky overhead. A peaceful utopia, especially for one blonde girl who was unaware that all that would change......without warning.

In one of the neon lit stucco apartment homes, the Elden family had finished dinner, and had brushed their teeth before they set to work on printing leaflets to protest the evil tyranny of The Pereira Star Empire, for though Tete (the father) and Tene (the mother) were high money making people at the local cantina, they were also, as was their daughter Jura, members of a resistance movement fighting the evil PSE. After the printing, Tete, Tene and Jura were arranging the stacks of leaflets before breaking them down into smaller stacks, prior to distributing them to the city's populace.

"Does everyone know what to do?" said Tete.

"I believe so," replied Tene. "We discreetly climb atop the tops of buildings in the city skyline and drop the anti PSE leaflets, in the hopes that they will scatter, that someone with no love for Brittany and her Empire, will read it, and join our resistance movement."

"Which reminds me," said the then seven year old Jura, "Ain't you worried that The Empire's likely to discover what we've been doing an' bust our butts? Just now, I heard stories of several people in the resistance dragged out from their homes for 'investigation' an' never heard from again."

"We ain't goin' to lie to you, Jura," admitted Tete, "The Empire's always loomed over like a shadow over everything so far, and it's always been the danger. As such,  
many of our friends and families died to spearhead our cause to one day put The PSE and its Empress away for good."

"And just think," added Tene, "their efforts won't be in vain when at long last, they day the evil Empire falls, proving our hard work was indeed worth it. And someday,  
when long after all is said and done, we'll look back at those times we risked ourselves, everything we had cherished, for hope and peace, and laugh."

"And tonight will be the moment," said Tete the father, "that we will know for sure if we get more members from the people that read our leaflets. Only when we're big enough, and strong enough, can we finally bring down the PSE and restore peace to the galaxy. Is everyone ready?"

"YUP!!" said Tene and Jura.

"Then let's move out, scatter through the streets, seek out a sutable building top to distribute our leaflets and rendezvous back at our house," said Tete. "Move out."

And move out they did, yet Jura couldn't help but sense an uneasy feeling, that after their work was done, by the time she and her parents came back home, everything would never be the same..................

All through the night, Jura and her parents, split up through the city, climbing the tops of buildings, scattering out down below, dozens of leaflets, from one part of Dredge to another, heading on and on till every last leaflet was distributed. In fact, it was after midnight when Jura made it back home.......only to notice that something wasn't right,  
that all seemed quiet, a feeling she sensed even before stepping inside, with the lights on inside. Cautiously, she stepped inside--

--and discovered, right before her, her parents already shot dead on the floor, the Empress Pereira standing before them, flanked by several of her Emerald Guard officers,  
all with their phasers, now aiming at the hapless blonde, who turned back and saw several other PSE shock troops, their weapons aimed at her, come out from their hiding places and surrounding her. In short, it was all a trap--a trap now sprung by the evil Empress!!

"Well.......," said the cruel ruler, "if it ain't the female scion to these two traitors that spilled out these anti PSE leaflets. I knew it had to be you L7 sods that passed them in an act of sedation, when I got a copy of one of your papers when I was passing by the local cantina that night. Right then and there, I knew it was time to administer my brand of justice to your now late parents, as you can see here......."

Seeing that her parents were dead, it didn't take long for tears to well up in her eyes and for poor Jura to bawl, "They were good people, trying to put away for good,  
devils like you, and they were only.......only doing what was right, and you.......you, WHAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" The blonde was crying bitter tears and kneeling before Tete and Tene, while in the grip of her heartbroken tears.

"Oh poor gal, booo hooo hooo!!" mocked Pereira, her officers and shock troops joining in with cruel guffaws. "Lest we forget, they committed an out of bounds crime,  
and now they paid the price........as you will pay yourself, to the point where not even an ATM debit card can finance."

"So what of it, Empress?" said one of her officers. "Let's deal with her the same way we did with her parents."

For a moment, the evil Empress paused before saying hesitantly, "Wait.....better still......she MIGHT carry some hidden talent that might benefit our cause, that she could be of some value to me."

"Her?" said then Admiral Ramoth Gilead, a blonde clone of Suzanne Pleshette. "Somethin' tells me that I got a feelin' we shouldn't trust her--remember the old sayin'--'beware of snakes bearin' gifts'"

"It ain't snakes, it's Greeks," sneered Brittany before turning to Jura, adding to her, "If you want to bloody live, I strongly suggest you join me and my Empire; I sense some hidden talent within you--and you may not know it yet. You might learn a new lease of life."

"After what you did to my parents?!?" stammered the blonde through her tears. "I'd just as soon belch sideways wiithout giving it a second glance....!!"

"Don't be insolent," stated Pereira. "I sense in you some potential that could enable you to live than die like a martyr. With out combined expertise, we could make a valuable ally of you--it beats dying as a martyr, don't you think.........unless you're just an insignificant, wussie ridden L7 sod."

"Me a wussie?" charged the diillusioned Jura, her tears fading. "Guess I ain't got much choice since I got nowhere to go. You win....where do I sign?"

Beaming, a smug look on her face, The Empress shifted her crossbow to one side, stating, "You did well in making the right choice, lest I chose to blast you right there, as we did to your loving parents as a martyr. Now go get all your stuff, turn out the lights in the house and follow me."

And Jura did just that, collecting all her possessions and turning out all the lights, then following at gun point, the evil Brittany and her cruel cohorts out into the streets, out from Dredge,  
and the only life the blonde had ever known, prior to boarding the Hohenzollern................

As the years passed, since her "disillusioned reluctant" recruitment into the Empire, Jura started out as a scullery maid for the flagship carrier's galley, then a stockroom girl, a cook's helper,  
an apprentice engineer, dishwasher, gopher (e.g., go for food, go for supplies, et al) and then a crew for the hangars and the Diamantes. All that work, for the moment helped the blonde to, for a moment, forget the tragedy of of her parents, and at the same time, wind up depressed, pondering why fate was so cruel to allow her parents to die. All of which left Jura in an embittered mood, combined with that any chance of escape impossible, had her losing faith, hope, and any compassion for anyone else, not caring who it was. Overall, the whole experience had poor Jura turning to the dark side, burying within her, the kinder, compassionate good self with in her soul..........till, at age 16, she became fascinated with one of the Diamantes and their controls, before she climbed into the cab and looked over what was in there, before a hangar tech spotted her and barked in a Brooklyn accent, "Hey!! Come out from there, youse!!"

"Sorry," said Jura, "I was just curious 'bout your fightercraft, I mean, the inside to the weaponry looks so state of the art."

"Well, youse got to admit," said the tech, who had red hair, "we prided ourselves on the finest fightcraft, all designed by our Empress who in turn, sumitted the plans to our construction crews like me to build them.......so youse like our fighter ships, eh?" Sticking out a hand, she shook the blonde girl's, adding, "Cara Staam, hangar tech an' part time Imperial test pilot."

"Jura Basil Elden," said Jura, "from the neon city of Dredge."

"Dredge?!?" said Cara, her face lighting up. "It's where I was born too!! So we got a fellow Dredgeite like me as well!! In that case........maybe I can instruct youse all there is on our fighter fleet known as the Diamantes........"

So with Cara's help, Jura put in a request to the Empress who balked at the idea of applying as a Diamante pilot, doubting her talent, but then said, "Given the fact that you've done well, in your different branches of work here in The Empire, I'll admit you're good in firepower and marksmanship with your weapon, how to follow orders, well.....keep in mind, a Diamante is a complicated complex piece of war technology. You think you can master such a craft which only the finest professional pilots in our squadrons can use? I should remind you that I also pilot a Diamante in my own right as well, and my piloting skills surpass even my pilots, to the point that no one else is able to match, let alone equal my expertise. And supposing you do apply to be a pilot, can you stick to the rigorous training and requisties crucial for any Diamante pilot? And if so, can you finish what you begin?"

"I'll do whatever it takes," said Jura. "I did well in my other jobs; I can do well as a pilot just like the rest."

"In that case," said Pereira, "if you can handle the grueling training and do well, I may reconsider.......remember, it's no bed of roses--it's hard work."

Indeed, under Cara's training, Jura, to the surprise of herself, The Empire and even Brittany, stuck it out throughout the long, grinding, grueling, tense traing that would had left any pilot wannabe frazzled, but not Jura. Having been trough a lot of sorrow over losing her parents was what gave her the perserverence to carry on, taking on everything Cara and the rest of The Empire could throw at her, first, as time went by, in a computerized simulator, then in a minor training vehicle, then finally in the real thing, passing every test, listening intenly to Cara's tales and lessons, ascending through to the ranks of pilots with precision skill that would eventually match that with the same skill the Empress possessed, to the chagrin of the afforementioned ruler, reaching the coveted rank of Ace Of Aces, which in turn led to the rank of Major Basil Elden, with Cara also ascenind to the rank of fighter pilot in her own right as well; indeed since meeting that first time in the hangar in the Diamante, she and Jura had become fast friends that day, sharing each other's secrets, and looking out for each other like sisters, taking on countless missions and displaying their fighter skills in the Empire, like two valiant warriors that couldn't be stopped. For a moment, it was as if the blonde pilot had forgotten her troubles, and yet as she opened up to Cara, she was having second thoughts when it came to joining The Empire, having only joined to save herself from meeting the same fate as her parents did. But would there be a chance to escape, to defect? Fearing such hopes impossible,  
all Jura could do was wait and hope for that day.........

So The Empress WAS right, that Ms. Basil Elden HAD been serving The Empire once long ago--and so had Cara. What a shock. Strange bedfellows, but at least we now know how she and Jura first met.  
But how was it that they dug up the courage to jump ship? What was the motivation to do so? A lot of mysteries, but hopefully, we'll uncover the steaming junk behind it all when Jura's story continues in the next chapter--boy, is writing fanfiction tough, or what?

--a440

Next: Chapter 12: Political Asylum 


	13. Political Asylum

The saga continues.....and so does Jura's story of her past. Well, that, and Cara's as well.  
After all, what's a former PSE Diamante pilot turned Dread diva to do?

CHAPTER 12: POLITICAL ASYLUM

At age 19, Jura had become the most prolific Major in the PSE's elite Imperial 440th Diamante Squadron, but the fact that she was also an Ace Of Aces, all that was gradually making the Empress jealous, fearing that one day, the blonde would overthrow Pereira,  
thus becoming the new ruler of The Empire. Well, that and the fact that Jura was gradually yearning to defect, to flee The Empire and seek out someplace to hide. But where?

The tension twixt Jura and the rest of The Empire mounted one day, when Brittany called for a special bread and circuses type tournament of some of the PSE's finest and against some of their cadet recruits, in duels to increase their prowess in future battles. Right now, Jura had been selected to join a 7 year old redheaed girl, a newcomer, both armed with staves, and were in a empty pool like pit of some sort, with Pereira and her court and troops on platforms surrounding the pit.

"Women of The Pereira Star Empire, everywhere," the Empress was saying, "good evening. So far,  
we've had a 50 to 50 points victory between our seasoned officers and our newcomers. Right now,  
we're down to the last event, the pirahna pit test. On my left, the Ace Of Aces in our 440th Diamante Squadron, Major Basil Elden, and on my right, one of our up and coming personnel, Cadet Tsitra Steg!!"

After the cheering, Pereira added, "The object of the challenge is to knock your enemy in to the rising water,  
and trying not to get knocked in, using your staves. The one that can knock the other into the warter, is the winner. Fill half full the pit with the pirahna waters!!"

All around the sides of the pit, valves opened, half filling up to the feet which were in armored boots to protect them from the pirahnas which were swimming in the rising water, their teeth ready to chomp on any flesh--which became apparent to Jura what the object of the duel was. Even now as the water level stopped at knee level, Tsitra swung her stave at the blonde who parried the blow and for the next hour, the expert and the novice--a sad faced waif with red hair who looked scared yet determined, and upon seeing that, the blonde felt sorry for her--which in turn, resulted in a quandry. Losing, even losing your life to a horde of pirahnas was one thing but to knock over that poor girl in the waters full of those fish, especially a scared 7 year old where the fish would eat her alive was even worse. And if she didn't win by knocking Tsitra over, which was the object of the so called "game," Brittany would have a field day with her, since compassion was stringently forbidden in The Empire. For now, she did the best she could, whacking and blocking with her stave, neither her nor Tsitra giving an inch, even as the crowd of women overhead, along with their Empress were getting impatient, unruly and bothered, Pereira shouting, "Finish the game!!!!"

"How?" called Jura.

"Kill her," ordered the Empress. "Knock her over in the pirahna waters."

For a moment, the blonde was unsure as to what to do........she had been loyal to the Empire, but to push a 7 year old girl into the pirahna infested waters was after all, something inhuman...adults she had wiped out in the past on the Empress' orders, but to murder a girl like Tsitra.........? Right now, she and Steg were swiping at each other with their staves as if they were buying time to think, but even so, it didn't stop the rest of the crowd from getting not only impatient,  
but also irate--and so was Brittany, who muttered, "You want something done, do it yourself."

With that in mind--and with inhuman skill, Pereira gestured with her hand, and poor Tsitra fell backward and landed on her back in the water, just as two pirahnas started to close in and try to bite her arms, until Jura stepped in and reached out to pull her up and hoist her over her shoulder and carry her out from the pit and safety, to the annoyed complaints of the crowd,  
so it was no wonder the Empress turned livid and ordered, "You two, Elden, Steg, in my office!!"

Inside her green neon lit office and personal suite, the Empress glowered at the fearful Jura and Tsia, who had a banadge on her arm where a pirahna almost bit her and demanded, "Right. Major, explain. Why didn't you knock Cadet Steg into the pirahna waters like you were supposed to? It's SUPPOSED to be part of the game, what did you expect?"

"Well....., stammered the blonde, "in the first place she seemed too little to die like all the other combatants, I mean, she's just seven years old, and in the second place, we could use her for work in the scullery and trash department, since we've currently got not much personnel there."

"Anything would be better than dying," said Tsitra.

"You sure it's because of lack of personnel in the department?" said a suspicious Brittany, "Or is it because your penchant for caring came back without warning? May I remind you, it's against the rules of The Empire when it comes to compassion. Remember--in The Pereira Star Empire, our Imperial laws don't give a bloody hang over our victims, no matter what age, gender, race and/or creed that victim is.  
Such caring and compassion is what makes our Imperial warriors weak and cowardly, from the inception of my Empire, we've prided ourselves to be tough warriors, without remorse, without compassion, that defending our Empire is the first priority--make that our only priority."

"But you never know what Cadet Steg may be if she grows up," defended Jura. "She could be a great Major like in the distant future,  
maybe even a General, even an Admiral of the Hohenzollern."

"Pipsqueak Tsitra Steg?" mocked Pereira. "A General? Even an Admiral? Don't make me laugh."

"You never know," said the blonde. "Everyone at one time or another is gifted with hidden talents, I mean, I was gifted as a virtuoso fighter pilot, who can say Cadet Steg couldn't be one herself?"

For a few minutes, the Empress mused over that in a doubtful mood, then said, "I hope you're right........if you believe Steg could be a valuable aspect to The Empire, we'll give her a chance to prove herself. As it stands, here's my judgement: I'll be willing to bend the rules based on what you believe, in matters of Steg's possible potential. But-----------if there's ever a violation in matters of caring,and other uncalled for matters, contrary to our beliefs, it's unlikely you might get off easy next time, after all, it could scar my reputation, if not that of The PSE.  
After today, do what I tell you to do, got it?"

"Understood, my Empress," said Jura, feeling at ease that she and the cadet would be spared for now.

'Dismissed, you two," said Brittany before adding to Tsitra, "Good luck, Cadet......I hope the Major is right saying you've got a lot of future potential--for your sake."

"Thank you........," breathed the 7 year old cadet, as she and Jura exited the chamber. Once down the hallway, also lit with green neon light, on one of the upper levels of the flagship carrier, they hid in a niche before Tsitra hugged the Major and said, "Thanks for saving me. I owe you one......you truly think I could be a great officer for The Empire?"

"Who knows?" said Jura. "If it could happen to me, it could happen to you."

"Wish me luck, Major," said the cadet.

"Good luck," said the blonde before she and Steg parted ways......

Much later, in the pilots' barracks of the carrier, Jura related her latest experiences to Cara who said that the blonde did the right thing, adding, "It's one thing beating someone to win a game to prove our status quo, but trying to beat a 7 year old cadet in a fight to the death is an unkind cut. It's times like these I wish I could jump ship and split for another place to live. Y' see, I used to live in the city of Dredge myself, until the PSE thugs rubbed out my family,  
an' I was spared only if I joined The Empire, so here I am."

"That happened to me too," said Jura. "The Empress and her troops murdered my parents when I was a child."

"No kiddin'?" said Cara. "That sucks. Sounds like good company to me, as to how we both wound up here, due to similar circumstances. One of these days,  
I may jump ship an' flee to some distant planet an' start a new lease of life. Youse wit' me so far?"

"Better yet," said the blonde, "you've sparked my interest in defecting from The Empire myself, on account of the fact that The Empress is starting to be jealous of me, ever since I became a Major--well, that, and the fact my fightercraft skills were sharper than hers."

"An' don't forget your Ace Of Aces rankin'," said the redhead. "Who can say she might tire of youse an' rub youse out without warnin'?"

"Now I am beginning to worry," said a fearful Jura. Then: "If you do jump ship, can I sign up?"

"I'd love your company, youse know that?" said Cara, a big grin filling her face.

"Bless you!!" chirped a near tearful Jura, who shared a hug with her longtime friend.

"That was how it was with me and Cara," said Jura, who was doing her best to fight back a crying jag. "I feared it would be only a matter of time before The Empress suspected I was getting.....weak minded? Anyway, I was was desperate to flee and be free, so I could live in peace and bring the nightmarish memories of The Empire to an end and start over. I had a feeling The Empress would change her mind after I had botched up the duel just to save Tsitra Steg's life."

Hibiki, who had taken the last drag from his cigarette before it fizzled out, said, "How can I be sure your story's the truth and not some half baked lie to get any sympathy?  
And that your near cryin' jag's no fakeroo? I mean, you once servin' the Empire's a shock, but that Cara was also once one of those PSE freakazoids? THAT is how you two met? Surley you jest."

"It's no jest, so help me," said the blonde diva. "Take it as a doubt, if you like, but what I said is no lie, believe you me."

Little did the hothead and the blonde knew, that their radio was open, so the rest of the Dread pilots, the Nirvana bridge crew, and Magno and B.C. overheard Jura's story,  
their compassion going out to her.

"Poor Jura," said Dita. "and Cara too......I had no idea."

"Jura.....," muttered Barnette, "why didn't you and Cara tell me?"

"I feel like someone hit me in the head," said Misty. "Who knew?"

"I never thought that after all that time.....," said Meia, "that not only Jura....but Cara were once were with The Pereira Star Empire......what a shock."

"Yo......," said Cara. "I thought me an' Jura had forgotten our past then........I hope The Empress didn't get wise 'bout me......."

As if they had been stung, Jura and Hibiki jumped in shock upon hearing the different voices over the radio, the latter saying, "Hey!! You were spyin'!!"

"Spyin'?" said Barnette. "Don't you remember that crew standard procedure calls for one radio channel open at all time, especially in emergencies?"

"We stand corrected," said the blonde. "So you know, big deal......"

"Never mind that," said B.C., "could you get back to the story?"

"And how you and Cara planned your escape," said Meia.

"Get on wit' it, Big J," said Cara. "it's time we turned loose the skeletons from our closet."

Still trying to hold back her crying, Jura stammered, "Seems that way.........anyhow, what happened next a few days was unknown to me and Cara, yet we could guess what was running through the Empress' mind..............."

From within her office and chamber, Brittany Pereira called up one of her digital screens which showed the face of a woman that had the face of a bored housewife--Raca Peart, the captain of The PSE's secret police retinue known as The Emerald Guard.

"Peart?" said Pereira, "I got a task for you and some of your best officers and Diamante pilots in The Guard for when the time is right, a torpedo assassination task."

"As you say," said Peart. "How soon?"

"Next week," said the Empress, "on the day we raid the capital city of the Melanus."

"I'll see what I can do," said Peart. "I'll call you back then."

Deep within the central bowels of the Hohenzollern's communications network chamber, a door opened and in sneaked Cara, who had in one hand, an electronics kit, and a worried Jura.

"You sure it's the place?" said the blonde. "Looks scary all dim lit. Besides, that section's restricted. If The Emerald Guard saw what we were doing in here, they'd clamp down like a vise."

"No worries," said Cara. "It's the only place where all communiques, from within and from without, inter office and long distance and whatnot, all take place here. Jus'  
stand guard and if youse see anyone comin', gimme a high sign."

"Just get on with it, and make it quick," said Jura. "and soon."

Venturing in the LED lit chamber, Cara found one of the panels and opened it, revealing several USB cables plugged in their sockets. Locating the plug that connected the Empress' suite office, she pulled it out and took out from her kit, a USB plug with a four way hub on the other end on it, along with another USB plug cord; she then stuck the plug with the hub into the socket, then the plug for Pereira's suite. Last of all, the redhead pulled out the plug for the Diamnate pilots' barracks she and Jura shared, then stuck the two ended cord in, one end in the empty socket, the other in the hub socket, before closing the cover and running back to Jura saying, "Let's beat it--piece of cake."

Hours later, in the empty barracks, Jura was standing guard while Cara opened a wall panel, and plugged into the USB socket beneath it, a plug cord, the other end patched in her laptop computer.

"You think it'll work?" said the blonde.

"Why not?" said the redhead. "It worked before on Mission Impossible."

"But I heard that the Empress' communiques were routinely digitally scrambled, encoded and jumbled," said Jura, a hint of doubt on her face.

"Not to worry," said Cara. "My software can universally translate anything--well, let's get started."

Setting to the task, the redhead typed the following in her keyboard:

REQUEST: COMMUNIQUE TAP IN AND RECORD FROM THE EMPRESS BRITTANY PEREIRA COMPUTER TRUNK LINE.  
CODE: C62X2250.  
PASSWORD: MARY LIZ MC GLYNN NORRIS.

There was a pause, then the following scrolled across the screen:

SELECT TYPE

A INTERSHIP B LONG DISTANCE C AVERAGE D LOCAL

Taking a guess, Cara clicked on tab A and got:

NEW RECENT COMMUNIQUE:

FROM: CAPT. RACA PEART OF THE EMERALD GUARD.  
TO: THE EMPRESS BRITTANY PEREIRA.

Cara clicked REPLAY and the screen changed to that of the interior of Brittany's suite, the face of the evil ruler almost filling the screen, as a heard yet unseen voice could be heard--that of Captain Peart.

"Empress," said the voice.

"Report," said Pereira.

"You got the torpedo pilots you requested," said Peart, "and it wasn't easy, on account of the fact they've been griping over mininum wage laws, while your echelon lives it up on their paychecks. They've been wanting something better than the usual suspects."

"Tell them not to worry," said the Empress. "On the day we air raid the capital city of the Melanus, me and a handful of my officers will pull out our Diamantes from where we've been surrounding our target in her ship and you and your pilots surround her and blast her to bits."

"Her ship?" said Peart. "You mean it's one of our own pilots?"

"Right," said Brittany. "The target is Basil Elden--Major Basil Elden of The Imperial 440th Diamante Squadron."

"The famous Major Basil Elden?" said Peart in surprise. "She's one of our best pilots, a maverick and legend in our fleet and an Ace Of Aces no less. Whatever would the reason be for targeting her?"

"I have no doubt," replied Pereira, "that she might be a traitor the The Empire since that bloody sod was a coward to spare Cadet Steg from those pirahnas--and something else...........suffice to say that you and the lot had best not mess up your task."

"Marjor Basil Elden turning traitor? You'd think the XEW fumes would inhibit her thoughts of doing such a thing.....it's your party," said the Emerald Guard head. "How much help can we get?"

"None," said the PSE ruler. "Everyone in The Empire knows that our Emerald Guard staff is comprised of crack pro troopers. Once you deal with L7 Basil Elden, we'll invent a cover story for the rest of the staff, saying we accidently hit a friendly in the battle by accident, and was killed in action, so there'll be no trouble. One word of warning--if it doesn't work out for you and your lot, I'll be coming for you, so keep it in mind. Pereira out."

"No sweat," said Peart. "Peart out."

After the screen went blank, Cara unhooked the computer from the panel socket, as she asked Jura, "Youse hear that?"

"And how," replied the blonde fearfully, shuddering. "We've got to cut out as soon as possible. We'll load our fightercraft with all our possessions, and in the midst of the fighting, slip off to someplace safe and wait till they think we were missing in action and scram....only what do we do next after that?"

"Before I was.....'drafted'," said Cara, "I had some connections with some of the Melanus that worked for the anti PSE underground; they live in the city of Neo Remathlehi, the capital of their home planet; maybe they can help me and you get to a safe planet so we can start over."

"Then let's get started," said Jura, "when the time is right--and DON'T TIP OFF ANYONE........."

Days after that discovery, the Hohenzollern came out of lightspeed at the home planet of the Melanus, their destination, Neo Remathlehi.  
Within a matter of time, the giant capital ship began the re entry into the planet's atmosphere, the flew down into the lofty blue skies, the jade green landscape of the planet with its azure waters, cities, villages and farms below......and then, the capital city ahead. Inside, the many triangle screens came to life in nearly every section of the ship, the face of the Empress on them, as she said, "Right. Attention,  
to all personnel of the Hohenzollern, the time's come in which we've reached the capital city of the Melanus known as Neo Remathlehi. All staff, get ready for what could be out latest coup, so all Diamante pilots, report to your ships and Take off. All gunners and support personnel, get ready. Rember--failure is no option......the rewards for success, riches, award decor and secular fame.......the folly for failure, pain and death.  
So---------hit them hard and without warning, nor regret!! Fight hard and fight dirty!! Show no remorse!! Show no mercy!! We don't plan on leaving those bloody Melanus sods outside the clinic if we get the chance at all. They're L7 little monkeys!! Now start the strike!! Sound the alarm!! Battle stations!! Move out--FOR GLORY...........AND.......FOR HONOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

After the screens vanished, the alarm klaxons went off as personnel scrambled to their places; in the case of the Diamante pilots, they boarded their ships, among them, Jura, Cara and the cold eyed Brittany Pereira, who, upon readying her Diamante, muttered, "Fade out, L7 Jura Basil Elden"  
Then as soon as all were ready, fueled and standing by in the launch mode in the hangars, she barked, "All Diamantes, LAUNCH!! First strike after takeoff!!"

"UNDERSTOOD!!" chorused the pilots before all the fightercraft catapulted from the hangars, streaking to the city ahead, like green angels of death, their death dealing weapons standing by. Behind, the carrier's weapons of phaser cannons, plasma torpedoes, missiles and seismic bombs were blasting towards the now oncoming figher ships of their enemy which was also using their weapons. Ahead, Pereira's Diamante was in the lead, flanked by two other ships. Behind,  
seven yards from that, Jura, with Cara in her ship abover her........and that was when she notice that four other Diamantes were surrounding her, a formation the blonde knew all too well in her pilot days as the method used for surprise assassinations on enemy pilots and their ships; the ships ahead could use their aft mounted guns to blast from behind while the ones behind could use their foward guns to take her from behind--and at any moment. Besides, Jura reconized the faces of each of the pilots surrounding her as that of The Emerald Guard, the hired killers and secret police stormtroopers of the PSE. So it was no wonder that the blonde sharply pulled back on her joystick--

--and gunned her Diamante up and out from the space she had been in, 0.1 seconds before the other pilots opened fire with their foward and aft weaponary,  
thinking they could blast Jura in the crossfire, only to now wind up blasting each other to exploding oblivion in the process, which took everyone, the Empress included, by unexpected surprise.

"No......!!" said Brittany in shock. "It's impossible!! What happened?"

At that moment, Jura snapped her fingers over the radio, a discreet signal for Cara to split off and sneak off in the midst of the confusion, which was compounded further when the blonde used a spin technique, using her foward and aft mounted weapons of cannons, machine guns, missiles, seismic bombs and plasma torpedoes to hit a few Diamantes on the side before striking Pereira's own Diamante from behind, adding, "That one's for my parents," and rocketed off for the south side of the planet.

"Jura........," hissed the Empress, "I figured it was you.........you've reverted back to your old ways!! And worse still, wiped out my best Emerald Guard pilots!! You bloody sod!!" To the rest of her fleet, she called out, "Seek out Major Basil Elden!! She's a triple crosser!! Finish her off dead!!"

So now Jura was on the run, piloting her Diamante, gunning her now former wingmates in the Diamante fleet, shaking off her pursuers, eluding them; the years she spent as a virutoso pilot, the years she went throught the training, all had reaped dividends, as she used her honed skills to her advantage. Eventually, her pursurers were far, far away, just as she reached a vast trench like canyon with a wide rapids like river below.

However, only one other PSE fighter had been coming on behind, matching her speed and trajectory with the skill of a vetrean, the razor keen sharp skill of a bona fide Ace Of Aces, only with much more advanced skills overshadowing her a bit.

The Empress Brittany Pereira.

In fact, the evil founder and ruler had kept up with Jura using a combination of follwing at a distance and her Diamante's stealth fold generator to follow her quarry till she was twelve yards from the blonde's Diamante and turned off her stealth fold before saying into the radio: "To the individual that just turned traitor and stole the property of The Pereira Star Empire, which is a Diamante fighter ship, hear me out: it's time to blast your cottage cheese bum to bloody bits......you may be an Ace Of Aces,  
but your skills can never match that of mine. In any case, I warned you of treason and worse in my Empire--it was a bad judgement call taking you in from the start, meaning I made a mistake so I should try to correct it.......so listen carefully, L7 sod--I MADE YOU, AND I CAN BREAK YOU!! OFF TO HELL!!"

So saying, Pereira took several potshots at the fleeing Jura, who blasted back and eluded the enemy firepower, flying down into the canyon, skimming a few feet above the river, the Empress coming on fast from behind, the ladies exchanging their weaponry and dodges, winding down the canyon , Brittany trying to force Jura into crashing into the rock walls, only for the blonde to time and again elude trap after trap, the Dredge native effortlessly dodging and fighting back and the PSE ruler chasing her relentlessly, saying, "Run, but you can't hide."

"Talk is cheap," said the blonde. "The hunter gets trapped by the game and pride comes before a downfall. Besides, how can you wallop me? You jokers taught me everything in Diamante piloting."

"Not everything," replied the Empress. "There's some talents I possess that I keep a secret........."

At that moment, Cara's Diamante streaked by from behind and took a few potshots out from the PSE ruler's fightercraft, then did a tail spin as one of its engines blew out and it spun into an intersecting canyon; there was just a second before there was an explosion, followed by a smaller one a minute later.

"Cara........!!" breathed Jura, a tear running down her face.

"Seems there's more than one dissident in the Empire," said Pereira. "only who was it? No matter; you may claim to be just as good as I am, but you can't top my loop strike."

Saying so, Brittany piloted her ship in an effortless loop the loop, in an effort used to confound her eneimies for years and winding up behind then, just as she wound up behind Jura before adding, "So what if you might be so called equal in my flying skills? For no one's been able to master my loop strike, and no one ever bloody will. Can you, for that matter, use sorceress magic like me?"

With that, extending her right thumb, index and center finger, the Empress gestured at Jura's craft and four fire posts sprang up, encircling the ship, roasting it. Then a series of hyper charged lightning bolts slammed down the Diamante and it spun in a downard spiral into the canyon, splishing into the rapids of the river below; an explosione that caused a fine spray of water followed that.

"Take a dive, y' bastard," muttered Pereira. "That bloody score is settled."

And without ado, she flew off back to the Hohenzollern.

Long after Brittany had flown off, then something came to the surface of the rapids which washed up on one of the rocky shores--the cockpit pod section of Jura's Diamante, its pilot having passed out from the trauma of having been almost beaten by Pereira's devistating magic. Fortunately, right after her fighter had splashed in the water, the blonde hit the switch that jettisoned the pod before the rest of the ship exploded. Afterwards, she woke up to running water, a bit bruised in some spots, but in one piece. Shaking the cobwebs from her mind, Jura opened her cockpit pod and collected all her possessions she loaded her ship with, and climbed out, wandering the rocky ground in a new world so foregin to her after having been drafted into The Empire.

"I feel like I wound up with the death penalty and lived," she muttered as she walked towards where there was a slope that would lead out from the canyon and back on level land-  
until a thought occurred to her. The Diamante that had crashed. Cara's fighter. Was it engine trouble she had and she had perished in the crash back there? Did it mean the blonde had to make her quest for freedom alone? Upon coming to terms with that, she bawled, "CARA!!!!" and started to cry, deep racking gasps--until she heard a voice with an all too familiar Brooklyn accent call out, "HEY!!"

Turning 'round, through the tears that almost obscured her vision, Jura saw, coming toward her, carrying her possessions, still in on piece, Cara Staam, who ran to her, shouting,  
"Yo, Jura!! Youse can't start a party wit' out me!!"

A wave of gratitude swept over Jura before she and Cara ran to each other and swept each other in a big hug, sobbing together in relief.

"I though youse was dead!!" said the redhead.

"Oh, baby doll, I thought, when I saw your ship....," said the blonde.

"Jus' before my ship crashed," said Cara, "I ejected myself and my cockpit pod outa there an' landed, an' it's a good thing I took all my stuff I stored with me from there--before my pod also blew up."

Calming down, Jura wiped the last of her tears and took a breath before saying, "We made it.....we're free....."

"Yup," said the redhead, "but we've got a long way to go before we're truly free, per se. Good thing we bought those street clothing during our shore leave on Europa."

Changing out from their PSE uniforms into street wear and arranging their hair into some pony tails, then they picked up all their possessions and walked up the slope that led out from the cannon and reached a long tar street where they would hitch a ride with a truck driver on his way to Neo Remathlehi, the battle long over with, a draw with both sides lost. From there, they settled in a local hostel and had a nap. In the morning, they got a hold of the connections, which in turn directed them to the underground movement which arranged for Jura and Cara to serve as waitresses on a pleasure liner bound for Mejere. For the moment, it seemed as if their dreaded memories of the Empire had been behind them, yet they couldn't help but worry if the PSE had gotten wise.......

In the end, when they finally reached Mejere, they jumped ship and set up in one of the planet's capital cities, finishing their education at Mejere High, during which they drifted apart, at Cara's suggestion, stating they couldn't be seen together in case the PSE chose to come here--at least till they could be sure it was safe to reunite. On that day, the ladies shared one last parting hug, promising they would meet again when the time was right.

"Thanks for everything," Jura had said. "No matter how far apart we may be, we'll never forget each other."

"Take care of yourself," Cara had said. "Youse will always be the best friend I've got........."

That was how it was for Cara Staam, who would join the cheerleader squad of Mejere High, and Jura Basil Elden when she took up fashion classes; at one point, she shared a home with a film diva, who had been jumped by a gang of toughs who would later serve a life term in jail; the film star lost her life from a brain hemorrage, according to the attending doctor named Barnette Orangello, who in turn was just as devistated as Jura was; as such, she quit her job and moved in with the blonde, till they became close friends. Then when things were getting even worse along with the war, Jura and Barnette chanced to meet up with Gascogne who in turn introduced them to Magno Vivian. After that, their lives would be changed dramaticlly ever since................

And what of The Pereira Star Empire?

The battle turned out to be a draw with both sides losing, so the Empress and her minions took off and went to Earth where they would prepare their then newest creation that would serve as decoys for any anti PSE factions--the machine drones and computer controlled ships that would later evolve into the Harvest. First the PSE ruler designed the sketches, genetic planning and blueprints for them, along with the Pyxises that would be the power sources for their machines, as well as the boy creature that would serve as general guardian for the whole thing. After that, Pereira entrusted the plans to the Earth scientists to mass produce the creations for the task at hand. That way, if the new creations caused any havoc, the PSE would deny all responsibility. But as time went on, the factories that were building the would be Harvesters were all too soon poisoning the air, land and sea, even the earth people themselves to the point of mutating into mutant creatures that were half machine, half creature, turning the Earth into a horrid machine planet. At first, the Harvesters did well in folliowing Brittany's orders and programmed prime directives in causing all that damage they could by capturing humans to bring to the Empress for her bio/mech/genetic creations........until the Harvesters, along with their boy humanoid started programming themselves for independant conquest and, to the chagrin of their creator, rebelled and went off on their own path, causing their own horrific rampage on humankind, right up to when Hibiki first came into the picture.

And during the whole time, just as Jura predicted, Cadet Tsitra Steg would grow up to be not only a fantastic pilot (and be a fast friend with another cadet named Gie Bele Taltli) but the new General for the Hohenzollern, serving under the evil Empress, who, from her POV, if not the rest of the Empire's POV, declared Jura and Cara deceased in action, if not missing in action. Overall, the rest was history.

When Jura had finished her tale, her eyes were swimming in tears as she said, her voice so near the breaking point, "So you see, if it hadn't been for Gascogne and the captain taking me and Barnette in, we never would've never found our new lease of life, our niche...........I thought, as Cara did, that our years with the PSE were forgotten, like shadows with no substance......how was I to know the Empress would dig up our past?" The blonde almost lost control of a sob at that point.

"We're sorry, Jura," said Meia., "and to you too, Cara."

"Bad memories can hurt, youse with me so far?" said Cara, her face somber. "I thought our past was behind me. At least the Empress didn't discover me as well."

"The worst part," said a shaking Jura, "is that I can never get over losing everything, even my family, all because of the Empire and their Empress. Now i've been having dreams of that dreadful night they died and I JUST CAN'T BEAR IT!!!!"

Unable to hold back any longer, after so long, the blonde diva pitched her head back and was crying hard, countless tears streaming all over her face, bawling her head off like a scared, heartbroken seven year old girl, gasping in her hysterical sobs; realizing the circumstances at hand, Hibiki detatched from Jura's Dread, just as Magno said, "Given the circumstances, we'll order all ships to come back to the Nirvana and abort the mission for now till then."

Turning to the nearest com, B.C, ordered, "All ships, back to the Nirvana. We're aborting the mission for now."

Poor Jura--and poor Cara too.........it's not easy when you've been through a lot, after losing all you had cherished for years only for everything unjustly wiped out by devils and despots like Brittany Pereira. Maybe all those years of living with the Empire, especially round women may explain why she's been prideful, stuck up and why she was in love at first with barnette from the start, and why she was enamored with Hibiki, and not just as a baby maker. And you know what? I don't blame her, after what she and Cara had been through. But what of the planet within those asteroids? Did the Nirvana crew reach The Pyramid Of Titan yet? They'd best get to locating that key before the PSE does. Ann what of the spy that relays all the stuff to the Empress? Who is she? How long will it be before Hibiki & Co., along with The Cornerstone Empire of Balderon learn the answers to all the riddles at hand? And now that Bart and General Steg have fallen in love, when will they meet for real to profess that fact? Let's just say only I know because I can make it happen, which is a rule of thumb for all writers Let's just wait and see........

--a440.

Next: Chapter 13: Distant Thoughts & Discoveries 


	14. Distant Thoughts & Discoveries

Anime often carries with a lull in the storyline or "filler." Now and then the action slows down, then without warning, speeds up,  
then vice versa, slow then fast. Romance or strife? Well, now that we got that outa the way, let's check in with Hibiki and the Vandread crew.....

CHAPTER 13: DISTANT THOUGHTS & DISCOVERIES

As before, Hibiki and the rest were in deep thought, only they were digesting over what they had found out when it came to Jura and Cara's past. But then, one pundit had once said that the past could break through to the present; since that teary confession,  
the blonde pilot couldn't stop crying, preferring to spend her days on her bed, weeping away, and much of the Vandread team were worried; at one point, Dita had said, "Oh, Jura, please stop crying. "The diva's reply? "How? My tear ducts just went out of control."

Inside his suite, Hibiki had finished his cigarette, aware of one fact that ran through his mind: the fact he couldn't stop thinking of Jura. When he had first met her in the old days, during the war with the Harvest, he had thought of her as an annoying baby crazy bimbo that cared for no one but herself. A spoiled vain brat. A love crazy lesbian that hadn't had guys for years until he had stepped in the picture. That is, until he and the rest heard her story; any woman, deprived of love, family and a man (if that could be believed)  
and living much of her life in an evil empire like the PSE--even someone like Jura deserved a break, at least something to prove she was loved. Now, as the hothead got up and readied his meal of bell peppers and beef, he thought there was some way he could help her.  
Overall, for someone that chased the Van pilot like a child chasing an ice cream van and kissed incessantly........why was Hibiki feeling like......ugh........like he was falling in love with Jura?

Impossible. Meia? Could it be? Didn't look like she had been the kinder gentler sort. Barnette? Always gun crazy. Truly NOT Dita, after what happened, always the crazy type with that stupid tiara and her midriff baring outfits of hers, always UFO crazy. Misty? She seemed like the avarage type, unlike the other Nirvana women. But Jura? Who could say she could love and leave once she got what she came for,  
which was a baby? But what if she stayed even after having the infant? Women were enigmatic even before the gender war, and they were STILL enigmatic even today. At one point, he had wondered if things would've been different if he had never stowed on the Ikazutchi in the first place. Would the Mejere pirates had still raided the ship? Would they had stood a chance against the Empress' creations known as The Harvest? The hothead reluctantly had to admit one thing..........the night those women did their welcome wagon thing before he was smothered in kisses from those said ladies......like it or not, of all those women, Jura was the best kisser of them all, a fact justified when she and the Van pilot first kissed for so long in the Nirvana hangar, before discovering the carnage in Rabat's ship.

"So help me," he muttered, "I am going to hate myself in the morning. Dita is one thing, Meia and the rest of the others, maybe. At least I can get along with Cara on a friendship basis, unlike those other jokers. But Jura? It's downright crazy!! She only loves 'Great Guns' Barnette, not a hot tempered baka like me!! Not in any shape or form, no way, no how!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Even so, as soon as he could, after his meal, Hibiki went and at the Nirvana canteen, bought a huge bouquet of roses and was soon heading to Jura's abode,  
muttering, "Why do I think of such STOOOOOOOOOPID stuff like that?" Even so, he arrived at the door of the suite, and already could hear the diva crying away, which was tearing the hothead up; he timidly opened the door and entered. Inside was Jura, slumped on her stomach on her bed, weeping away,  
and the Van pilot couldn't blame her. Anyhow, he set down the bouquet on her bed and went, "Ahem...."

Suddenly, Jura, her face streaked with tears and mascara and red from crying, bolted up and bawled, "You %*#$^&!!!! What the $^*%#& do you think gives you the right to step in here at such an inopportune moment?!? What the %#*&^$ do you want?!!?"

"J-Jura," stammered the hothead, "I just--"

"You," charged the diva, "happen to be a ^&$#%* wacko, that is how I see you as, coming in here without knocking, with me in so much grief!! Is it THAT hard to fathom that? GET OUT!!....GET OUT!!....GET OooooUT!!!!!! OR ELSE!!!!! NO COURT WILL CONVICT ME!!!!!!"

"SEE IF I CARE, THEN!!" yelled back Hibiki, before he walked out, though not before blowing a raspberry, then stomping down the hall, the blonde pilot's sobs faintly coming from behind. When he was further down the hall, the hothead lit up a cigarette, grumbling, "Is that the thanks I get, trying to do something nice?  
Boy, that is the last thing I do any *%#$^& favors for jokers like women.......!!"

Just as he said that, the Van pilot heard Jura call out from behind, "Hibiki, wait!! Come back!!"

Turning back, the mechanic saw the blonde run up with regret on her face as she fell on bended knee and said, "Please forgive me for behaving that way to you!! I didn't know you got roses for me, why didn't you tell me?"

"I tried to........," said Hibiki, who finished his cigarette, a bit glumly, "but you laid into me."

"So I did," said the now calming down diva, who wiped her tears aside. "Well, come on, let's get these in water!!" she said, before taking the hothead's hand and ran back to her suite, then filling a jar with water and placing the roses in that, sniffing and savoring the fragrance, sighing and saying, "How'd you know roses were my favorite?"

"I just thought it was every woman's fave," shrugged the Van pilot, thankful the misunderstanding had been resolved. Right now, the blonde pilot had set on her Queen Anne loveseat and gestured for Hibiki to set next to her; after he did so, hoping she wouldn't try anything sneaky, yet putting that aside, after hearing what she had been through with the PSE, Jura glumly said, "Sorry I was such an ingrate to you when you only came to do something nice for me and cheer me up--that was the sweetest thing you did for me, in fact, it's the first sweetest thing you did for me, per se, after all the times you used to run and hide from me and act like you didn't care."

Blushing, the hothead replied, "Better late than never. I reckon Barnette treats you nice with flowers like I just did."

"Not as much as you," said the blonde diva. "You didn't know? The relationship twixt me and Barnette was on the rocks."

"Which was just what she told me," said the Van pilot. "She confided to me that it was getting so crummy, you two were impossible to live with."

"That figures," said the Dread pilot, "same old Barnette. Thankfully, at least she and I stayed as good friends." Sighing, she added, "If I had caused you a lot of grief with chasing you like Dita did and using whatever yenta tricks to get you to notice me, just for a baby and for whatever gains I could wring from you........forgive me."  
From there, Jura hung her head in shame.

"Sorry for giving you such a hard time years ago, and berating you," said Hibiki. "Maybe we'd feel better if we made peace so that it'd be a load off our minds." As if he was proving that point, he nervously draped his arm round the blonde's shoulders.......and was (pleasantly) thankful the Dread pilot responded by wrapping her arm round his shoulders, a gentle grin replacing the tears she had on her face as she said, "Hibiki Tokai, I think you may be taking a liking to me."

"Uh........," stammered the hothead who blushed yet didn't take his arm off Jura, "it's better then running and hiding from you in shame like some crooked politician.  
listen, Jura, I don't think I was the born romantic or anything like that, not even 'round Dita and the rest. I mean, what do you say to someone that never had been in love even before the Taarak/Mejere war first started, and lived most of his life with his grampop? I can't express any feelings of love the way others like, say, the Melanus,  
did, even if I wanted to. Guess, I never had any experience with love first hand because of that crummy war........."

"So?" said the Dread pilot. "Duero and Parfait had a lot of patience and and weren't scared to take the first step, and they were married. It just may take some time for you."

Scoffing, the Van pilot said, "If I was to submit a resume to a lonely hearts club, I'd get back a form letter saying, 'We're not THAT lonely.'"

To Hibiki's surprise, Jura burst out laughing, her head pitched back as she guffawed and giggled, saying, "The lonely hearts club, oh, YOU!! Hibiki Tokai, don't ever change.  
you've just got to believe in yourself." After getting her breath back, she calmed down, saying, "Is it true Dita had a few crashes during your junket with her on Taarak?"

"Yup," said the hothead glumly. "I know Dita's got her good intentions though, but a bit dizzy." After a pause, he added, "We've.......come a long way since that day I stowed on the Ikazutchi, just to steal a Vanguard.......now I wish I hadn't........wish I had never met up with the likes of you, otherwise there would've been.........I can't think of the word just yet.........sorry I even came, at the wrong place at the wrong time........."

"Don't be sorry," said the blonde diva, pulling Hibiki to her so that he was laying close to her, his head on her bosom, her arms wrapped round the Van pilot, one hand of hers on his head like a mother cradling her child close to her (and for the first time, if not the only time, the hothead didn't resist, welcoming it, even wrapping an arm 'round Jura's waist,  
and stating, "If you had never came, we would've never met, to be the friends we were meant to be by fate. If you hadn't come, we never would've discovered the secrets of the Pyxis, the Nirvana, the Vandread technology, and worse still, without your battle tatics, no one would've stood a chance against those Harvesters, for that matter the war between the genders would've never ended. You were our inspiration, our cheerleader that had everyone carry on, even things were at their worst--and believe you me, it's the truth, coming from my soul, so don't blame yourself for doing the right thing, which was to be at the right place at the right time, just as Capt. Vivian and our fellow pirates were at the same time."

For the moment, the two held each other that way, pausing until Hibiki spoke, "Jura?"

"What?" said Jura.

"That Empress Brittany," said the hothead, "sure didn't waste no time in discovering you cheated death then.....least it's a miracle she doesn't know Cara's also safe and sound."

"True," agreed the blonde diva, "but it's just a matter of time till she does.......THEN there'll be hell to pay......poor Cara......"

Another pause, and then the Van pilot asked, "Supposing we do seek out that key to that lost Pyxis, then put that PSE and its Empress away for good, then reach the Earth and terraform it back to normal and repopulate it, where do we go from there?"

"Settle down," said Jura, "in someplace peaceful. If you could live anywhere on the Earth, where would it be?"

"Tokyo, Japan," replied Hibiki, "since it's where someone with my Vanguard mecha expertise could work. You?"

"Canada," said the blonde diva, "particularly one of its major cites.......you'd think they'd allow me to live in Toronto?"

"That kinda depends on the circumstances," said the hothead, "but, I'd reckon they'd allow you to live anywhere, I guess."  
After that, he added in frustration, "I just wish all that &^$*#% war with that %#*&^$ Pereira Star Empire was over with right now so I can get home.....!!"

"Amen," said the Dread pilot, "but it'll be over soon.....someday, we'll look back at those hard times and laugh, thinking it couldn't be done at first..........Hibiki?"

"What?" said the Van pilot.

For a moment, Jura seemed hesitant, as if she was preparing for an unpleasant subject, till she said, "All joking aside, I've had yet another confession in mind, only it's for your ears only."

"As long as it ain't got anything to do that evil Empire," said Hibiki, who turned his head to face the blonde pilot, his face almost showing signs of suspicion.

"Trust me, may lightning strike me if I lie, it's something real and truthful," said the Dread diva, pausing for what she had to say, taking a breath, and then said, "When we first met, I had my doubts on you, like I didn't trust you then, when you, Bart and Duero first came in our lives.......at first, I had wanted you as a babymaker and stepping stone, but as time passed, I had to admit, you WERE the first male to come into my life and that.........you proved time and again you were no bum from the Taarak streets. In time, inasmuch as I hated to believe it,  
I guess you could say I had a crush on you, and not for a babymaker, nor a stepping stone, nor for any false reasons--you seem so easy to get along, and you may be a hothead and a grouch most of the time......"

"I'll buy that," said the Van pilot.

"........you've got your moments," said Jura. "Fast foward to today, at the time of the reunion. Guess those days with you, restored my faith in guys like you, after so many years with women like Cara, Barnette and the other Nirvana women. After so many years deprived of love and understanding since the night the Empress murdered my parents and took everything I loved, it's people like you that restored what I had yearned for so long--like I told you before, just because I loved Barnette, or rather USED to.......that don't mean I can't love other people." With a guilty look on her face, she added, "Given time, I felt so helplessly--forgive me for not saying so sooner, and I don't blame you for how you feel towards me, and I hope Barnette, Dita and the rest can forgive me......."

"Get to the point, J.B.E.," said the hothead.

"The point is," said the Dread diva, "I've been helplessly--and hopelessly--in love with you. But back then, with Misty and Dita compeating for you, I felt like I could never have you, so the day I first met you, I reluctantly held back my feelings for you, and that was FRUSTRATING, yet I felt I had to get close to you in some way, so I came up with that baby making idea and all that Vandread Jura idea of merging my Dread with your Van just so I could be with you. I doubt if you may forgive me for deceiving you then, but I only wanted you, no, all I wanted was you, that I loved you so much......." Here, the tears were starting to well up in the blonde's eyes as her voice broke.

"You were in love with me the whole time and took so long to reveal THAT to me?" said Hibiki, dreading the idea of Jura crying again as he produced some kleenex and gave it to her. "Surely you jest. Why the %*#$^& didn't you tell me then?"

Wiping her eyes, the blonde replied, "I was scared--scared that you might tongue lash me the way you did Dita and Misty, lambasting me for having a crush on you.....thinking love was the studpiest thing from your viewpoint.....I don't blame you for how you feel towards me, but like it or not, for real...........Hibiki Tokai, I love you so much and want you a lot."

Whatever or not if it was sarcasm or if it was something else, the hothead said, with no bluster, "I know...........it just burns me up that you took so long to tell me that. But.....I'll hate myself in the morning for saying so, but you WERE a great kisser."

A wide grin spreading over her face, the Dread diva said as her face lit up, "Thank you.....you see? I got a feeling you've had some interest in me, so it's a matter of time before the rest comes to the surface; for now, you've taken your first step into romance territory."

Getting up, just as Jura did, Hibiki stated, "Like I said, I don't think I was the born romantic or anything like that, but..........I........WOULD like to ask something from you......"

"Which is.......?" said the Dread diva, one eyebrow up in surprise.

Hesitantly, if not embarrassed, the Van pilot muttered, "I want a kiss......"

"You DO have feelings for me, make no mistake," said the blonde, "it just takes time to bring them to the surface...." With that, she drew Hibiki in a close hug, wrapping her arms and holding the Van pilot close, as he held her waist, the two starting out tentively, then with much more passionate feeling, while they stared at each other, then deep French kissed, their tongues twined with the unbridled intensity of having been deprived of such a pleasure, after all, deep down, they had waited for days and months since the reunion prior to discovering Rabat's ship to kiss, so for the likes of Hibiki Tokai and Jura Basil Elden, it was good to have done so again, having kissed that first time, and spoiling each other in the process. Since that day, the hothead HAD been spoiled by the kiss, that first experience with physical love, and right now, he was (yet he didn't want to admit it at first) wanting more of that passion, holding closer and kissing deeply as the blonde was, trying to forget all the strife at hand: Dita, the mission at hand, the treasure map, the Pyxis, the evil PSE and its Empress, even all the past wars with The Harvest......only desiring the moment of holding and kissing last as long as they could, closing each other's eyes, putting aside those said cares for the nirvana of love they were flying high for.......quite fitting, since the capital ship they were on, was, after all, called the Nirvana........

In fact, in another part of the Nirvana, in his crystal helm pod, Bart had been doing some thinking of his own; since he had met General Tsitra Steg in the bathroom hall of The Firebird in Balderon's capital city of Cornerstone, he couldn't stop thinking of her, even dozing off and dreaming that he was in a wide, vast grassy field, until he spotted, seven yards away,was Tsitra; they ran to each other in a slomo way,  
each other seeking out the other, until they swept each other in a hug and kissed just as passionately as Hibiki and Jura had, holding each other, as they twirled round, in a carefree manner, until B.C. called out,  
"Bart? Bart? Hey, Bart Garsus, on deck!!"

Snapping out from his dream, the Garsus scion came to attention, and saw B.C.'s face on a screen and said, "Sorry, guess I got bored."

"Well here's something to lift your spirits up," said B.C. "We just analyzed that one planet near the asteroid cluster, and Misty says it's called Titan, one of the moons near that one huge planet with the ring of rocks known as Saturn, which means we found The Pyramid Of Titan. Gascogne wants you to help her and the rest of the Dread team for a treasure hunt."

"Uh, sure, I'll be on my feet, ASAP," said Bart before he jumped out from the pod and came to the bridge, saluting B.C.

At the same moment, General Steg had been dreaming of Bart herself since that fateful meeting in the bathroom, envisioning the day on meeting again, to hold, to kiss, when the Empress Brittany cut in, saying,  
"General?"

"Huh?" said Steg. "Oh, sorry, Empress, what were you saying?"

She, Pereira and rest of the other PSE officers were, as before, in the Hohenzollern's council chamber, when the General had been absent mindedly thinking of that first meeting with Bart when they met in The Firebird's bathroom hallway, and meeting the bald bishounen in a vast desert, sharing a kiss among the blowing dry desert wind, when the PSE ruler had cut in her daydreaming. Right now, the said ruler said,  
"As I was saying, given the last trajectory the Nirvana last took prior to their jump to lightspeed, I wager, they may be in the solar system, given time.....and no doubt, they'll be near at Saturn, and where there's Saturn, there's also Titan, one of its moons, where on its surface is The Pyramid Of Titan.......and The Key Gem."

"Your logic is impeccable," said Admiral Chimali, "So when do we make our move?"

"As soon as we get word from our spy onboard the Nirvana," replied the Empress. "We'll head there ourselves, to ensure all goes well......then we wait until the time is right for our rendezvous with our spy who will steal the gem from those L7 sods and will meet with me. After that, we'll head back to Jupiter and Europa, to The Pyramid Of Europa for The Green Pyxis, to fuel our Apocalypse Engine......only then all that oppose The Pereira Star Empire will instantly surrender."

"In a thrice," said Rear Admiral Eos. "It could be a giant step to victory for our Empire....just think, TV and radio stations will no longer broadcast their inane commercials, because there will soon be only one sponsor-  
the Pereira Star Empire, in which we sell the superiority of our great power."

"But will the masses be willing to buy something like that?" said Major Taltli.

"They might be forced to," said Tsitra Steg, "lest The Empress wipe them out with her newest creation."

At that moment, the voice of Ensign Idomor came one the stereo speakers: "Empress, we've got a sound/image broadcast via long range carrier relay from our Nirvana spy, says it's urgent."

"Channel it to here, onscreen," said Brittany.

In a moment, the digitally projected traiangle screen came from nowhere, displaying the inside of some cabin, dim lit in shadow, a female face also hidden in shadow, as she said, "I got crucial news, my Empress."

"Report," said Pereira.

"The Nirvana crew," said the hidden spy, "indeed had a copy of your designs, weapons, ships, bio creations and all your secrets on a disc and they played them for the rest of the crew, as well as The Empress of The Cornerstone Empire."

Turning livid, the Empress clenched her fists, muttering, "Those sods!! Bloody L7 bastards!! They know my secrets for sure, and they know I was the creator of The Harvest!!"

"Even now," said the hidden face, "they've already arrived at Saturn, and they're orbit 'round Titan, where Gascogne will take a team out to the surface and enter The Pyramid Of Titan, to claim The Key Gem."

"Once again, as expected," said the PSE ruler, her spirts brightening up. "A consolation for my stolen plans.........you've done well, Sargeant. Take part in the exploration, just ensure the Nirvana team pulls through and comes out from that bloody pryramid, with that gem intact. After that, maintain your post with them, till the time is right for you to call. After that we'll rendezvous with you to come back with the gem, and use out vestibule airlock to link up with the Nirvana for that task. For now, we'll be there for back up support, just in case. Your mission is almost complete, for now, get back to the others and remain discreet."

"Understood, my Empress," said the spy, before the screen vanished from sight. After that, Brittany turned to the officers and said, "Soon, we'll be seeing some light at the end of the tunnel for sure, and when all is said and done, we can put those dissidents, anyone that opposes The Empire, in their place." Turning to a comm, she said, "Ensign, pass the word to the helm of our ship as well as the rest of the fleet, to set course for Saturn, specifically the moon of Titan, prior to lightspeed."

"Understood, my Empress," said Idomor.

Unbeknownst to anyone however, back on the surface of Balderon, in the state of Bulsara, one of 78 states in the United States Of Balderon, was a prototype capital ship of aircraft carrier design, five tiered and silver,  
blinged with countless crystals, 4000 feet long and 3113 feet high, 40 engines in the stern, waiting on its landing struts for take off; any passer by that took a walk past that, did so in a hurry and with good reason, for that ship was the hybrid prototype Thea class starship Zaar Vouivre (The Vouivre), which had been built from the scraps of other ships from many other races, overall, a creation by its owner/creators, which was also one of Balderon's most wanted, most evil, most paganistic, most notorious and most dread crime syndicate, next to the equally evil all female Mogul Gypsies of the state of Solei--Zaar Elictrica Boogaloos (The Electric Boogaloos).

For years, The Boogaloos, next to the said Gypsies, were the terror of Balderon, and with good reason--they specialized in prostitution, sex slavery, murder, assassinations, hits, illegal gambling, drugs, smuggling, arson,  
extortion, weapon trafficking, piracy, terrorism, paganism, sabotage, vandalism and worse, so much so, that when The Boogaloos came into a city, town, anyplace, the worst villians ran out fast like sixty. And deep within the bowels of the Vouivre, in his silver and multicolored walled central suite, behind an illuminated desk, in a black outfit similar the the uniform worn by W.T. O' Neil from the film Outland, was a mean faced man that looked like a cross between Sean Connery and Eric Clapton, considered to be the most hated, feared and wanted man all over Balderon--The Boogaloos' founder and boss, Jiggy Jiggy Juddin, who along with his sister Harlow,  
a brunette with green streaks in her hair, and his wife PeeCeeBee, who looked like a mature blonde version of B.C., made up much of The Boogaloo core of high officials, using their battle cry of "Party hard!!" when it came to their remorseless crimes. Just then, a door opened and in stepped a fellow who looked like a gnaut version of R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe--The Firebird's general manager, Tafka Deref, and his secretary Dervish Beemer, a sherry color haired attractive lady. Approaching the desk, Tafka said, "You sent for me?"

In a thick Australian accent, Jiggy Jiggy replied, "A pair of unknown officers from The Pereira Star Empire were in your eatery days ago."

"Correct, sir," said Tafka.

Holding up a photograph of Tsitra and Gie Bele entering the ladies bathroom, which had been taken by a hidden spy, the mobster said, "And do you know what hair color is for the lady on the right?"

"Twixt blonde and brunette," said the eatery manager.

"Again, right," said Jiggy Jiggy, a look of cool confidence. "Only one woman we know is gifted with that color, along with brown eyes and dimples--Gie Bele Taltli."

Hearing that, Tafka shuddered, saying fearfully, "But.......Taltli was dead a year ago......!!"

"The newspapers said she was dead, you can't deny that," said Dervish.

"Rubbish," said the crime lord. "Even the spy I sent out sensed Taltli's brain wave pattern, using his own CTI mind sensing, and I sensed faint echoes of what he felt when he came back with the photo--and CTI power never lies. That means Taltli is alive.......unless you DID succeed in ending her life. Didn't I give you and Dervish the strictest orders to eliminate her then?"

"You did," said Tafka, "and I relayed those orders to Dervish here to do just that."

"And did she?" said Jiggy Jiggy, suspiciously as his eyes narrowed. "I had a feeling your mistake was trusting a secretary to play assassin."

"If you must know," stammered Dervish, "I did my best to get rid of her but she lucked out and eluded me and bested your strongest pet.....in short, we failed."

"So it was her that murdered my Jak," said the crime lord. "May I remind you we Boogaloos hate failure. Depart from me!! You've shamed our syndicate for the last time!!"

Glumly, Tafka and Dervish started to exit, but just as they were on the threshold of the open door, Jiggy Jiggy jabbed a button and countless electric bolts shot out from either side of the doorway, disintergrating the hapless duo known as Tafka and Dervish till two piles of ashes were all that remained of them.

"Seems The Firebird may have to look for a new general manager," said PeeCeeBee. "What a waste."

"The only priority is that we look for that Taltli and the Empire," said Jiggy Jiggy, "which means we've got to seek out their current location--not that easy, since they use a stealth fold generator."

"Already on it," said Harlow. "We've been using our thermo trackers for the better part, in detecting strong heat blooms from the engines and recators mostly from the fightercraft, capital ships and War Machines of The Cornerstone Empire, but just now, we've detected also different blooms of engines and reactors of lower tempatures of each 7000 degrees Fahrenheit--and only such equipment of The Pereira Star Empire can produce such tempatures, compared to the 12,000 degree Fahrenheit engines and cores of The Cornerstone Empire. Anyhow, despite their ability to hide, there was a lot of activity from their carrier engines and such as they turned to a new trajectory heading for course 3-1-5 before they went into hyperspace, indicated by the sudden heat nova bursts on our trackers."

"3-1-5," said the crime lord. "That means they were heading for the solar system--Saturn, possibly one of its moons. Well, it seems our future plans may be getting better and better. The hunt resumes." Turning to his wife, he added, "Tell the Vouivre bridge staff we're lifting off and back into space, like the old days. From there, we're to set course to Saturn, course 3-1-5."

"C'h'ruhsi, ris (Understood, sir)," said PeeCeeBee.

For the second time in his life, Bart Garsus was riding shotgun with Gascogne Rheingou in her Dread carrier, Hibiki's Van and the other Dreads following, all making a well timed re entry to land on Titan for the group's first treasure hunt.

"I'll say one thing for The Cornerstone Empire and their fellow Balderonians," the supply shop officer was saying to Bart, "they're one heck of a bunch of electronic geniuses--at least that way, no matter where you may be, you can pilot the Nirvana with ease, anywhere with that gizmo they built and gave you."

Pointing to a small control box unit with a joystick control strapped to his wrist, the bald bishounen said, "You mean my digital hyper long range universal remote control from which I can pilot the Nirvana? That thing rules, taking out all the ouch from flying that thing, so that I can be fully part of the team."

"Let's listen to tunes on the way," said Gascogne. "Hibiki, you got your MP3 player at the ready?"

"As always," said the hothead, who had just puffed on his cigarette, before the sound of Dale Gonyea's We Are Dead pulsed from the Van's speakers, which was also broadcast on the comm to the others.

"Hey, poop-a-doop," said Barnette, "how's it feel to take part in a treasure hunt?"

"Least it beats having to kick PSE butt now and then," said the Van pilot. "I only hope 'ol B.P. and her merry women don't get a head start......."

"For our sakes," said Meia, "I hope not either. I mean, there's a dozen things with that stunt that can foul up, and most of it can be caused by those PSE jokers."

"I get scared thinkin' of it," said Dita. "We had it better off when we were dealing with a computer controlled bio mech race that treated humans like vegetables known as The Harvest--I don't which is worse, that or an facsist all female empire ruled by an ageless sorceress."

"Now youse know what me an' Jura went through when we served The Empire," said Cara.

"Don't remind me," said Jura. "My biggest worry is that pyramid interior may dirty my fancy dress."

"Same old Jura, eh?" said Misty. "Well, let's just git-r-done and quick."

Upon landing on the desert surface of Titan, the group found themselves standing in a 15 foot wide clearing surrounded by broken rock like marble structures, a cross between Egyptian and Greco Roman, with glyph like writing on what looked like cololums; it was there that Misty who was reading the stolen map, said, "Company, halt!! We're here."

Looking all around the wind blown sandy landscape, Gascogne asked, "Well, group, what do you think?"

"Looks like some real estate that fizzled out," said Bart.

"Reminds me of my old neighborhood after a rumble," said Hibiki. "Could use a vacuum cleaner."

"But the questions is," said Meia, "where's the pryamid? Where's the entrance door?"

Consulting the map, Misty scanned it for a second and said, "You may not believe it, but that pyramid's underground, and so's the entrance--a one way entrance with the exit on the other side of the land."

"Underground," said a dismayed Dita. "Great flying dog do."

"But the thing is," said Barnette, who was stomping everywhere in hopes of locating the door, "where's the so called door?"

"The thing is," said Cara, "where'd that sandstorm come from? Sure came all of a sudden, an' it's so loud."

How right she was--to the left, at the north of the clearing, with a loud howing noise, was a swirling sandstorm building up at speeds of 70 miles an hour was coming close, building up in size; if Gascogne & Co.  
knew the source of that sandstorm was in reality, hidden in its stealth fold of invisibility, the ascent/descent engines of the Hohenzollern as it was touching down on the surface. But even so, another surprise was in the works, for with the sound of the engines, came excessive vibrations, almost like an earthquake, caused by the sound waves of the said carrier's engines.

"First a sandstorm and now an earthquake," moaned Jura. "Least it can't get much worse."

No sooner had the diva said those words, then a seven foot square of basalt which had been hidden in the sand dropped down eight feet in a shaft like hole in the ground--and wouldn't you know it that Dita and Misty were also standing on that same spot--in short, when the basalt slab fell, so did the UFO otaku and the blue haired newcomer, both screeching as they fell in the hole. And above all, the rest of the group saw that and ran to the edge of the hole, Jura calling out, "DITA!! MISTY!!"

"Great," grumbled Gascogne, "who was it that said it can't get much worse?!? Misty!! You and Dita in there?!?"

"You don't think they.......?" said a fearful Barnette.

"I don't even want to think of them as dead.......yet...." said Meia, who was looking for anything, a light, even a sign of life.

"*%#$^!!!!!!!" growled Hibiki. "We've got to get a rope and a light here!!"

"I think things just got even worse still," said Cara, "on account of the sandstorm's gotten worse an' it's headin' over here!!"

It was true--the sandstorm was almost covering the landscape, getting closer to the Vandread team, due in part from the enemy carrier finishing its landing; seeing that, the supply officer known as Gascogne said, "That does it!! We've got to head back in our ships and wait out the storm--MOVE IT, ALL OF YOU!!!!!!"

And move it they did......before the Hohenzollern touched down. Inside the bridge, The Empress Brittany and her officers surveyed through the windows at their new discovery as the sandstorm their ship created abated.

"Landing complete," said the helmswoman.

Turning to General Steg, the PSE ruler said, "Start mobilizing your Emerald Guard 'round the peremiter of the pyramid section and maintain discreet survellance on the Vandread team. Don't do anything rash unless I say so,  
but that those sods succeed in bringing that gem safe and sound."

"Understood," said Tsitra before she, Major Taltli and a platoon of Emerald Guard shock troops departed......after that Pereira muttered, "Now we wait."

As it turned out, Misty and Dita were lucky; the blue haired newcomer had grabbed onto a rock sticking out from one side of the shaft during the fall and the UFO otaku grabbed onto Misty's legs, and was dangling, her feet five feet from the bottom.

"That was too close," said the redhead.

"At least you ain't too far to jump," said the newcomer. "Hurry it up, my fingers're slipping from that slick rock!!"

Dita let go from Misty's legs and dropped safely to the bottom, just as the blue haired lady lost her grip and fell, but was saved by the UFO otaku's saving carry grab.

"Sorry 'bout that," said a sheepish Misty.  
"No worries," said a giggling Dita. "Drop in anytime."

After setting Misty down, the UFO otaku turned on her flashlight to survey the high chamber: slick rocks, a rocky floor, and a long dark tunnel that led to a huge rock slab of a door, the howl of a real sandstorm taking place up above and outside.

"Can't climb up the walls," said the redhead, "they're so slick--no wonder you lost your grip."

"Like I said," said Misty, "we're in a one way passage through the pryamid, and the only way to reach the exit, is to solve the puzzles, get past the traps and claim The Key Gem if we're to break on through to the other side."

"Can't wait for the others, so much the worst," said Dita. "Not with that sandstorm outside. We'll have to get the gem ourselves. What's the map say?"

Opening the map, with Dita's flashlight shining on it, the newcomer said, "We head foward to that huge door ahead. Just watch your step--there's bound to be dangers."

Reaching in her back pack she had at the time, Misty took out two PSE issue phaser crossbows, saying, "Now that we stole these enemy weapons before we infiltrated their Balderon missile base, we may stand a chance." Handing one of the big weapons to Dita, she asked, "Can you use it?"

"Sure, why not?" said the redhead.

"Great," said the blue haired lady, "don't, unless it's crucial. Let's go......"

With the flashlight lighting the way, Dita and Misty went down the tunnel to the door, and it was then that Misty said, "I remember now........here's where Briana cashed in her chips."

"Briana?" echoed Dita.

"A treasure hunter on Pluto," said the blue haired lady. "She used to be a good friend of mine years ago during the Taraak/Mejere war until she entered that pyramid and never came out. Poor thing was always so reckless, never taking heed to the old saying, 'Fools rush in.' Well, we're here."

They came to a stop at the slab door; next to that was a rock wall panel that had a series of strange glyphs in a sequence and below that was a granite dial, also marked with the same glpyhs, like the dial of a combination safe lock dial;  
Dita had just reached out to the dial, when Misty grabbed her wrist and said, "Hey!! Didn't I tell you 'bout traps? It looks too obvious."

"A doorknob usually is," said the UFO otaku.

"Not in a jail," said the newcomer. "Whoever designed and built that pyramid would've laid out traps for the unwary, to protect that Gem, lest that Green Pyxis they stole from Ms. Pereira get reclaimed as well. Let's just take a look here, just to be sure....."

Examining the panel, the two could see the glpyhs were shaped like numbers; below each of the glyph was a left or right arrow, depending on what the number was. Noticing that the glyphs on the dail were just like the ones on the panel,  
Dita took a pen and notepad and wrote down something--from left to right, the first number glyph, 3, had a left hand arrow below it, next was a number 2, with a right hand arrow, and so on, until she finished jotting from that and read from the paper, "L-R-L-R-L-R-L-R-L-R-L-R, 3-2-7-4-1-3-5-4-1-3-3-8."

"Left, 3," said Misty, "right, 2, left, 7--a combination to a safe!!"

"Yay!!" cheered the UFO otaku, as she turned the dial, entering the combination she found, before the slab door opened, rising up, a torch lit chamber beyond.

"Not bad for your first try," said a grinning Misty.

Suddenly, a pack of black, mutilated, red eyed rabid dogs burst out from nowhere, prompting Misty and Dita to take their battle stance and used their commandeered PSE crossbows to blast the crazed canines to a bloody pulp. After that, only several bloody piles of carcasses remained.

"So much for those mutant mutts eating any Gravy Train," said Dita, "unless they serve the stuff down in doggy hell."

"For a bimbo," said Misty in admiration, "you've got some marksmanship."

"You're a virtuoso yourself," said the redhead. "Where'd you learn to shoot so great?"

"I used to work at a shooting range on Pluto," replied the blue haired lady. Who was it that said innocent gals like you can't carry a gun?"

"Go figure," said the UFO otaku, shrugging her shoulders as she and the newcomer entered the chamber--before the slab door slammed, sealing them in the new chamber, which was lined with more ornate Egypt type glyph patterns on the walls.

"Oh, great," moaned Dita, "we're trapped here!!"

"I told you the path was one way only, what did you expect?" shot back Misty. "So, what's the map say from here?"

"Uh, it don't say anything, you've got to read it," said the redhead. "Oh, right, it says the next door is ahead and that it must be opened by something called tribal physics."

"Tribal physics, eh....?" said the blue haired lady, who approached the door and examined it; painted on the fron of it, was a series of arrow like patterns, starting at the bottom of the door, on both sides, then the lines of arrow glyphs went up the sides of the door, up and stopping at the upper center part.....and then she said, "I see it all now," then traced in the air with her left and right index fingers, the pattern's path......and the door opened, before a horde of red scorpions came out, having been burned over two females cutting in on their home turf, only to be dispatched by several well placed phaser shots, by special arrangement with Dita Liebely and Misty Cornwell.

"Amazing," breathed the redhead. "Ain't there anything you can't do?"

"Get a job, what else?" said the newcomer. "Let's get truckin.'"

Entering the next chamber, Misty and Dita were again taken by surprise when the slab door slammed behind them, then after recovering, took stock of the chamber's interior: A huge rocky cave 15 feet wide and 21 feet high with a rope hanging from the ceiling, a ledge to the left high up with what looked like something glittering. To the right was yet another huge rock slab door with a circle with the eye of Ra engaved in it. Below the rope was a square pedestal with more of the Egpytian glyphs and beyond that was a dais like alcove 12 feet wide and 12 feet high with marble steps leading to the back of the wall with a pedestal with a gold circle on it.

"What now?" said the UFO otaku.

Checking the map, the newcomer replied, "Seems there's two gold icons we got to put together to form the Amulet Of Ra to open the door--one on that ledge to the left, the other, in the dais alcove."

"Let's get the one in the alcove!!" chriped Dita and started to run for it, but Misty grabbed her arm and pulled her back, saying, "HEY!! Do the words 'Fools rush in' mean a thing to you?"

"Sorry," said the mournful redhead, "I forgot."

"Let's check it out, lest any traps refresh our memory," said the blue haired woman.

Approaching carefully, the UFO otaku and the newcomer could see the steps up and in the alcove had, in random places, black tiles, and along the walls and ceiling of the passage, were 7 foot long guillotine like blades. Cautiously, Misty took out from her back pack, a folding ruler, unfolded it to its 12 foot length, then tapped it on one of the black tiles--and the blades folded down from the walls onto the steps, while the ceiling blades came down as well, to the surprise of the ladies. But the biggest surprise came that after a pause of four seconds, all the blades folded and ascended back in their normal places--and that was when something, cut at the waist, fell from the recess of one of the right hand wall blades, falling on one of the steps in two parts.....and upon seeing that, Dita, then Misty screamed at what they saw that had been cut by the blades' stainless surgical steel.

"Briana.......," breathed Misty in grief.

Half skeleton, half flesh. The cut in two at the waist dusty remains of the body known as Briana lay there, parts of her blouse and dress crumbling to paper, all of which told Misty what she needed to know of what happened to her friend. Even so, that didn't stop her from pulling out from he pack a sterile body bag, then saying to the UFO otaku, "Wait here," then, with the grace of a ballerina, treaded up the steps, trying to be careful not to step on any of the black tiles, stopping to scoop up the disintergrating remains of Briana, trying to be careful not to directly touch the dusty corpse, and zipping the biologically air sealed bag to a close and afiixing it to her pack, then reaching the pedestal and grabbing the ring, before carefully making her way back to Dita.

"Yay, Misty, you did it!!" chirped the redhead.

"Almost," said the newcomer. "We've got to get the other half of the puzzle....and it's way up there on that ledge....."

Already the redhead could see where her friend pointing at--the ledge at the left of the cave, so she ran for the big square pedestal, climbed to the top, and climbed up the rope.

"Careful, Dita," warned the newcomer, "it may break."

"I used to climb ropes when I was growing up," said Dita, "back on Mejere, so much so, my friends nicknamed me Jane Of The Jungle."

"Then start playing the part of a swinger and get to that ledge," said Misty. "And be careful--there may be a weighted trap beneath that second part of the amulet."

Indeed, Dita did just that--she swung back and forth till she built up the momentum to swing to the ledge and climb on it; there, on a one foot highpedestal, was a gold eye of Ra. But having recalled Misty's warning on weighted traps, meaning there might be a trigger for a trap beneath the icon, if it were removed. Spotting a big rock nearby, she picked it up, and swiftly switched the Ra eye for the rock, placing the latter on the pedestal, then started to climb down the rope--which broke, but the UFO otaku, thankfully,  
was saved by the blue haired lady's grab.

"Nice of you to drop in," said the newcomer.

"Deja vu," giggled the redhead before hopping off and handing the Ra icon to Misty who stuck the eye in the ring, forming the amulet, saying, "Great work, D.L. Lara Croft could've used you."

"Was she with the PSE?" said the redhead.

"Nice, let's go," muttered the blue haired gal as they headed for the door and stuck the amulet in the fitting respective grooves--and the door opened, a hallway with stairs leading down, as the ladies ran down it......but what they didn't count on, was that the pedestal Dita had placed the rock on, slid down five inches, then doors opened in the rocky walls and hordes and hordes of seven headed cobras slithered out, filling the cave, and some of them were heading down the stairway hall, to Dita and Misty, until the latter turned back and yelled, "Cobras!! Seven headed cobras!!"

"Let's beat it!!" yelled Dita, as the two ran down the stairs, some of the poisoned serpents gave chase, just as a slab ahead of them was closing off the other end of the hallway.

"The door's closing!!" moaned the redhead.

"I think we can make it," said the newcomer, and how right shew was as the two duck under the closing slab door, which slammed, sealing off all the cobras from the ladies, who turned and saw an even larger cave, the rocky ceiling forty feet high, and ahead, what looked like a pit of sand with a black onyx obelisk with a slot in its side, and a basalt hallway to the right.

"What a scare," said Dita. "I can see why Indiana Jones was scared of serpents."

"So treasure hunters can be human," said Misty. "Right now, according to the map, we've got a few tasks to do before we can enter the pyramid. Come on."

So saying they went down the basalt hallway, over bridges that spanned water pools, then up a hallway that went up until they were in a chamber above one of the pools--yet another ornate chamber in glyph decor with torches on the walls and at the farthest wall,  
a wrought iron gate locked and protecting a small passage with an hourglass in it, and another gate beyond that; above the passage were four unlit torches, also of fancy form. On the floor were crystal tiles of different glyphs in different colors, like that of a checkerboard. Nearby was a big lever.

"So what does the map say to do?" said the UFO otaku.

"It just says," replied the blue haired lady, "to just pull it. After that, there's some writing that says, 'Feed the tiles and run through the passage, taking the hourglass with you.'"

"If anyone's likely to be fed, it'll be Hibiki," said the redhead.

"You can't feed a set of tiles," said the blue haired lady, "but you can pull a lever, well let's see what happens."

So Misty went to the lever and pulled it.......and a heavy wrought iron gate slammed, sealing off the only way out from the chamber.

"Oh, great, we've been ripped of!!" exclaimed Dita in fear. "Open that gate, Misty!!"

So Misty did that, but no matter how many times she pulled it, the gate didn't budge.

"No good," said the newcomer, "we're trapped, and that map's no help!!"

Tom Mix, what a fix--much of the Vandread crew is waiting out a sandstorm on Titan, the PSE's goons took off to spy on our fave Nirvana bunch and Dita and Misty got stuck in a fancy room many feet underground that could be a Roach Motel rip off. And you thought Lara Croft had troubles like that when she raids a tomb. Well, let's hope miracles still happen here, for that sake of our Vandread otaku, same Van time, same Van channel.........anyone got Indiana Jones' phone number?

--a440.

Next: Chapter 14: Love & Traps. 


	15. Love & Traps

It's strange as to how some circumstances can turn foes into friends sometimes.  
But the fact is: I've been away from my fanfic work for too long so let's make up for lost time, huh?

CHAPTER 14: LOVE & TRAPS

Gascogne and Bart were safe in their own ship, the other women were hiding out in their Dreads while Hibiki turned his Van into an effective shelter against the raginbg sandstorm outside, as did the minions of The PSE, led by General Tsitra Steg, all back in their carrier.  
But it was Hibiki, who took a drag on his cigarette, his MP3 player playing Steely Dan's Deacon Blues, his mind mixed up with the unsure out come for Misty and Dita, and the fear the PSE might get at the Key Gem themselves--and that was when Barnette broke into the hothead's reverie on the com, saying, "Hey, poop-a-doop, how long you think that sandstorm's likely to last?"

"How should I know?" said the Van pilot. "Right now, the last thing I want is to think of Misty and Dita as dead when they fell in the hole."

"Now don't be losing faith so easily," said Meia. "We know Misty and Dita can be tough as nails--they're as brave as you may think."

"I just hope they know what they're doing," said a fearful Jura.

"Maybe not," said Gascogne, "but that never stopped them before. Our only hope is they don't botch up the mission."

"That is, if they don't scratch each other out first," said Cara.

"Think positive, all of you, huh?" said Bart. Yet, I can't help but wonder if we're the only ones here......"

Bart was so right that day......for hidden in the sandstorm was the gargantuan carrier known as the Hohenzollern, where up in the bridge tower, were the Empress and her Imperial officials and the bridge staff, Pereira asking an officer, "How long will it be before the storm stops?"

"It's too early to tell," replied the officer. Our tracking does indicate the Dread team is still there, braving the storm--they've got a lot of bravado."

"Your sure it's that.......or something else....?" mused General Steg, who was in a daze herself.

"You saying you've got my logic in you?" said Brittany, her eyebrows hinting suspicion. "That you may be just as virtuoso as me?"

"No," Tsitra replied, "but guessing can be second nature."

"Second nature, eh?" said the Empress. "Well, as soon as the storm stops--that is, if it stops, you and the Emerald Guard resume your posts on the Vandread team."

"Understood, my Empress," said the General.

Deep within the pyramid, within the torch lit chamber they were trapped in, Dita and Misty had been crying for hours and holding onto each other for comfort and support,  
until the blue haired newbie wailed at one point, "I wanna go home!!!!"

"I wanna go home too.....," sobbed the UFO otaku, "and to Hibiki and the others....what a shame we'll starve in the rock pyramid........how could the Angel Of Death be so mean to me and you, when we don't deserve it? It's a judgement, I tell you, it's a judgment.....!!"

"Calm down, Dita," said Misty, who got up and scanned the map. "There's GOT to be some clue in that map......that writing......Feed the tiles and run through the passage, taking the hourglass with you."

"Tiles.......," said Dita, looking out ahead on the floor of the chamber; scattered all over were crystalline tiles in different colors, each with an ornate pattern on it--and that was when she said to Misty, "That must mean the tiles on the floor-  
only how do you feed them?"

"Maybe.....," said the newbie, "the message means to step on a tile; one of them must open the gate with the hourglass.  
Step on a tile, and let's see which one opens it."

Cautiously, Dita stepped on a red tile, and it lit up, sounding a glissade like note in the pitch of A, but the gate didn't open.

"Nuttin," said the UFO otaku.

"Let's try every tile there is," said Misty.

Which they did, the redhead stepping on a yellow tile and it played a pitch in C. Then a green tile which played in F, a blue tile that played in G, an orange tile that played in D, a pink tile that played in E and a purple tile that played in B--none of which opened the gate, until a frustrated Dita moaned, "No good. Misty Cornwell, I've had it with musical puzzles......"

"Musical puzzles........," muttered the blue haired newbie. "What a couple of jugheads we were!! We should've known!!

"Come again?" said the readhead.

"Feed," said Misty. "The writing on the map said 'Feed the tiles'--it's more than just a word, it's a collection of musical pitches--notes, a musical combination lock, in effect. Step on the following tiles--the green F tile once, the pink E tile twice and the orange D tile once."

"Don't say I didn't warn you," said the otaku before she stepped on the green tile once, then hopscotch jumped to the pink tile, steeping on it twice, then stepped on the orange tile once--and the gate opened, revealing the hourglass--and a way out; grabbing all their belongings, food, weapons, map and all Misty and Dita ran through the passage, the newbie grabbing the hourglass on the way and stepped out, before the outer gate slammed behind them.......and they wound up facing the sand pit with the obelisk at the side.

"Yay, we've dood it!!" chirped Dita.

"Proves how teamwork can pay off, eh?" said Misty. "Now......." Truning to the obelisk, she stuck it in the slot.......and in a few minutes, the sand drained from the 12 foot deep square pit, revealing a 7 foot high onyx pyramid, steps leading down into the pit--along with a horde of black scorpions four times than normal, all of with were dispatched, every one of them when it came to Dita and Misty's marksmanship;after wards, the UFO otaku said, "Good thing we didn't try to enter that sand before you stuck in that hourglass......"

"You sure you didn't work for the PSE just like Jura and Cara did? said the newcomer. "You got the same marksmanship they had."

"Beginner's luck, I guess," said the redhead.

Heading down the steps, keeping an eye out for any scorpions, Misty and Dita entered the recessed passage in the pyramid and were met with yet another thick door, with the eye of Ra engraved on it.

"More tribal physics?" said a quizzical Dita.

"Looks like," said Misty, reading the map. "Semms we've got to make the sign of the eye in order to enter the pyramid."

"You mean like.......?" said the readhead as she used her thumbs and forfingers to form circles, then peered through them, then swept the palms of each hand together in a doward sweeping gesture, before the door slid up and open.

"How'd you know how to do that?!?" said a surprised Misty.

"From so many reruns of Dr. Who," replied the UFO otaku.

"Nice," said the blue haired newcomer, as she and the red head entered, then turned right 'round a corner--and slid down an inclined slide down into yet another ornate decorated room with torches, Egyptian patterns, a lever at the left side and a gate like grid that overlooked a vast octogonal chamber with countless star shaped holes running along the wall with brick walls and more of that Egyptian decor, but there were no doors and no way out.

Seeing all that, Dita said, "What now? There's no way out, 'cept throught that gate with the big chamber, where there's also no door at all."

"But according to the map," said Misty, "there IS a passage and a door through all that, if you know how to uncover it,  
or did you forget what Aesop once said, that apperences can be deciving. See through that gate and tell me what you see at the extreme bottom?"

Peering through the gate, the UFO otaku replied, "I see walls and such, a lot of star shaped holes every where......"

"No doubt a good place for a spiked trap," said the newbie.

".......and some crystal starfish thing at the bottom, only why should it be here?" said the redhead.

"For the same reason it's also on the map as well," said Misty. "I'll wager that 'starfish' is a key to unlock a secret passage that should lead right to the burial chamber where The Key Gem is by on that lever over there and open 'er up, then stay with me--after what you said 'bout star shaped holes, there's also bound to be a timed trap, so let's work fast."

So Dita did just that, running to the lever and pulling it, the gate opening. That done, she and Misty held on to each other's hand as they slid down the inclined path into the huge chamber, down to the bottom, just as a ticking sound began; the blue haired newbie grabbed the crystal star and a section of the bottom wall opened, before the ladies ran out and into a long hallway, until Dita, on a spur of the moment, looked back into the huge chamber they had vacated--and saw swiftly, countless spear pointed crystalline spikes shoot out from the star holes, all the points converging in the center of the chamber, then shot back in the holes and shot out again, repeating the in/out stabbing sequence.

"And I thought THAT could only happen in the Tomb Raider games," said Misty. "That was too close."

"Let's hurry," said Dita, as she started down the hall, only to be stopped by Misty's grab on her arm, the newbie saying, "Remember Briana?"

Thinking back to when she and Misty saw Briana's body, all severed from the blade trap inthe dais, the UFO otaku shuddered, saying, "I remember."

"Then let's approach with caution....and stay on our guard.....," said the blue haired newbie, she and the redhead advancing with their crossbows at the ready. Ahead was what looked like a four foot long hexagonal gauntlet, with more star shaped holes in the sides of its walls.

"Not another spike trap," moaned Misty.

No sooner had the newbie said that--SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNG!!--more of the crystal spikes shot out from the holes, the tips of the lethal cutters stabbing in the center of the gauntlet for a 2.2 seconds, then shot back in the holes, and after a 1.5 second pause, shot out again, repeating the pattern.

"Seems that way, don't it?" said the dismayed Dita. "Wait, maybe there's another way past that crystal shish-ka-bob."

"As in getting a timing on those spikes," said Misty, "and jumping through them right after they retract back?"

In reply, Dita crouched on the floor, like a football qurterback ready to make a touchdown, studying the timing of the spikes each time shot out,  
then shot back in; the instant they went back in the holes, the redhead jumped through the space on the other side before the spikes could shoot out again in the hopes of impaling her. Then Misty did the same, making the sign of the cross before concentrating on getting the timing before jumping through, a second before the spikes almost had a chance to shoot out. Then the two headed down the hall, before coming across yet another spike trap gauntlet, the spikes stabbing out; as before, first Dita, then Misty took turns jumping through there, before the spikes had a chance to stab them.  
Then it was run down the rest of the hall, a right hand turn, and down a slide on an inclined path into a small room leading to something larger--until the ladies heard a grating sound and ran out from that room into the larger room before the rock walls crashed together behind them.

"How's that for a rock and a hard place?" said the blue haired newcomer.

"And how," said the UFO otaku before she glanced out at their new surroundings, adding, "Misty......I think we're here......."

How right she was: they were standing in a fifteen foot square chamber, again, with the most elaborate ornate Egyptian decor, all over the walls, ceiling and floors, with multiple images of King Tut lining the left and right walls. copper coloums surrounding an eight foot square marble platform, a second on above it. In the center of the bottom platform, was a jade pedestal on which was a crystalline key.  
The Key Gem.

"At last...........," said Misty. "The Key Gem.........we got a lot of surface to cover so let's be careful in settling down and covering it--see those four mummy case in the four corners of the room?"

Those huge ones with the blue casing and the gold trim?" said Dita.

"So saieth the map," said the newbie. "and see those red and green tiles on the floor?"

Scatterd all over the floor, surrounding the platform, were two different types of yellow tiles, one with a ruby in the center, the other with an emerald; in fact, through close inspection, the ladies could see hidden holes on the eye sockets of the King Tut images. That noticed, Misty "Our first proirity is to cross those tiles to the center platform, then get the Gem, and eldue the zombie mummies, on the way through the first mummy case, enroute to the last two puzzles to freedom."

"Zombies," moaned the redhead, "great. and I take it those tiles may trigger yet another trap--let's check it out."

"Hey, be careful, you," warned Misty, as Dita took a torch, and tapped its bottom on the emerald tile. So far, not a thing happened.......then she tapped a ruby tile--there was a grating sound, and from one of the King Tut eyeholes, a poison dart shot out and stuck itself on the upper wooden handle of Dita's torch, just an inch above her knuckle.

Whistling, the newbie said, "Almost stuck it to you that time. So how do we get past that?"

"Up for a game of hopscotch?" said the redhead, as she jumped on one foot, onto a emerald tile, and was hopping on only the grren tiles to the platform;  
Misty took to hopping with her keeping an eye out at the hidden holes, expecting any darts to come out, remembering to concentrate on the green tiles.  
Finally, they were safely on the platform.

"Once I take off that Gem," said Misty, get your gun, blast some mummies on the way and follow me."

Nodding, Dita, stood ready with her weapon, as Misty lifted up and off the Gam--and then the cases opened, a coughing retche mummy ocming out from each one, the otaku and the newbie blasting the to the walls, those mutants stepping on the red tiles, the darts blasting into the unmindful zombies.....and right after Dita and Misty hopscotched across the green tiles, to the opened case, which led into a passage, the overhead ceiling fell and crashed on the bottom platform. Then after blasting the unstoppable mummies, the ladies daterted through the passage.....and found them selves on the ledge of a 40 foot wide, 40 foot deep pit full of beetles, all clacking their razor jaws.

"Great," said Dita, "beetles, and I don't mean the Fab Four."

"But when there's a will," said Misty, "there's a way--least we know what that starfish thing is."

Taking out the crystal starfish she had taken from the bottom of the spike pit, the newbie stuck it in a star shaped hole in the wall to the left; a narrow bridge extended from below the ledge the were on, above the pit, and to the ledge on the other side, prompting the ledies to crawl on to it and safely over the meat eating beetles, to the other passage......which turned out to be a vast cavern with glowing green light here and there.....

"Which way now?" said Dita.

Checking the map, Misty replied, "Just one last puzzle: we've got to look for a chamber with four green crystals and once we trigger its puzzle, we're home free."

Continuing down the tunnel, Dita spotted something to the left, saying, "A cave, with green crystals!! That must be the place!!"

The ladies turned to where the cave was and it a yard or so away from them, 7 feet in height, 5 feet in width, the size of a small drawing room, loaded with big green crystals, only it seemed to be shaking and rumbling--until the whole small chamber, with a high squeaking noise, tipped over to the left, like a spinning dryer drum.

"Did you see that?" said Misty in shock.

"And how," said Dita. "That ain't it......let's try another way......"

The ladies went straight ahead down the cavern till the reached another door way which opened in a rectangular chamber with a sandy floor, a mummy lying in one corner.......four empty holes in one wall and four green crystals on the sandy floor.

"We're almost there," said Misty. "Let's put in those crystals and open up our exit."

"And I say it looks too easy," said Dita. "See that mummy there? And those spikes on the ceiling? Looks like yet another timed trap."

"All of a sudden, you want everything on a silver platter?" said the blue haired newbie, who handed two of the four crystals to her. "There ain't no such thing as a free lunch, so let's hurry."

With speed as the essence, the ladies stuck in the crystals, each crystal in a single hole, before a huge stream of sand started filling the chamber, lifting up the sandy floor up--and that was when the mummy in the corner came to life, stalking them, and coughing.

"YIPE!!" said Misty. "It's Mummy Dearest!!"

"Who was it that said," said Dita, blasting at the gruesome creature, "that someone's best friend was his/her mummy?!? I WANT MY MUMMY!!!!"

All round the chamber they ran, avoiding and blasting the un blastable mummy, until the sandy floor was 50 feet up, with the spikes 12 feet above them--and then Dita spotted a door, and led Misty down it, scrambling down the passage, just as another thick rock door, grating slow, was coming down ahead of them, but with their luck, the UFO otaku and the newbie made it out before the door could close, as they ran out, into the daylight in a rocky valley which was 30 yards behind where the Nirvana crew landed their ships.

"YAY!! We made it!!" chirped Dita.

"I said it before," said a brethless Misty, "and I'll say it again--that was too close."

"You can say that again," said the redhead.

"That was too close," said the blue haired newbie. "Sorry, couldn't resist saying that....."

At that moment, from in the distance, they heard Hibiki call out, "HEY!!" which prompted them to turn to where the Van pilot, Meia and Cara were running up to them,  
the Dread lead pilot saying, "We were so worried!!"

"Looks like youse two made it out safely," said Cara, "an' with The Key Gem as well!!"

"That we did," said Dita, "only next time, leave the tomb rading to Lara Croft, OK?"

"AAAA-MEN!!" agreed Misty.

Well, Dita and Misty--or is it Misty and Dita?--got the Key Gem, but that don't mean they're out of the woods, for once the PSE gets wind of it, whey'll come up with a way to get it for themselves, and once they get what they came for, the lives of the Vandread crew ain't likely to be worth a plugged yen. Gues it don't pay to cut in on other people's property, right? Well, we got a long way to go.......and I do mean A LOT. Think we'll be able to discover the secret of the PSE's spy hidden like a wolf ing the Vandread fold? Hope it ain't anyone we know, but then, that is what maintains the interest in any mystery, I mean, even Scooby's Mystery Inc. teens will tell you that.

--a440.

Next: Chapter 15: Time For Action 


	16. Time For Action

Well, here we go again, after a 2 1/2 month hiatus, it's time for the Vandread crew for some mishaps and the PSE--along with the evil Boogaloos on their trail.

CHAPTER 15: TIME FOR ACTION

Not too far away from where Hibiki and the group were, tossing their bouquets to Dita and Misty, hidden in a dune, were General Tsitra Steg and Major Gie Bele Taltli, seeing from their vantage point.

"So they finally got The Key Gem," said the Major. "The Empress will be pleased with the results."

"Don't bother with.......," said the General as she almost broke off, once again in a zombie state as she saw Bart in the group, staring at the bald bishouen helmsman, "let's just.....call the retinue and we'll head back to the carrier......."

Seeing her friend like that, Gie Bele shook her by the shoulder saying, "Hey, lover girl, let's hurry."

Again, Tsitra shook out from her trance, saying, "Sorry. Let's hurry."

Running down a ravine, the officers battled the winds--until those same winds loosened a seven foot steel beam that was stuck in a sandy hill; it fell loose and landed on Tsitra, causing her to fall on the soft sand, pinned down by the beam.

"You all right?" said the fearful Major.

"I'll be fine," said the General. "just fell on my stomach.......help me get it off, it's heavy."

Try as she might, Gie Bele couldn't lift the beam even with here friend's help, grunting, "It's way too heavy. We'd best call for help back on the Hohenzollern."

At that moment, Bart, along with Gascogne showed up, the former saying, "I thought I heard someone here," and the latter saying, "You may be right--and it looks like two of Ms. Pereira's flunkies. You've come to spy on our treasure hunt, huh?"

"Wait," said Tsitra. "I remember you--we met at the bathrooms in The Firebird on Balderon, remember?"

"I remember," said Bart. "Sure took me by surprise when we met, you and your friend."

"Wait," said a suspicious Gascogne, "you two met before? It's a wonder you and your friend didn't report that to your Empress."

"Not if was love at first sight," said the General. "Name's Tsitra Steg, General of the carrier Hohenzollern, my long time friend's Gie Bele Taltli, our Major."

"You must be Gascogne Rheingau," said the Major. "We've heard so much from you, mostly from the Empress....I just wish our meeting was under better circumstances, but as you can see, Tsitra's trapped under a steel beam, way too heavy for ourselves to lift."

"No way," said the supply officer, "you're with the enemy, you know that? Wait--your said you were Tsitra Steg, the one Jura saved years ago, right?"

"Right said," replied Tsitra. "No sense in denying that, we've known the truth can set all free. You know Jura? How is she? She told you, didn't she?"

"Yup," said Gascogne, "and it was a shock.......well, seeing as the Nirvana crew is dedicated to saving lives, even your crummy PSE lives, we'll risk it--even if you blab to your Empress."

"You joking?" said Gie Bele. "We hate the Empress, Tsitra and me, always spouting off at one time or another......besides, you know how it is when it comes to love.......between the General and your bald friend here."

"Garsus," said the bald bishounen, "Bart Garsus. Anyhow, let's see what we can do with that big beam......."

With all four lifting the beam, that steel thing came off with no worries, General Steg only winding up with a bruised stomach. "At least I wasn't seriously hurt," she said. "Hurry back to your allies, your secret's safe with me and Gie Bele here."

"Fine and dandy," said Gascogne, "Just be careful."

"We will," said Gie Bele as she and Tsitra ran off to who knows where, the supply officer saying, "I cannot believe we spared them yet I couldn't believe they spared our hides, eh, Bart? Bart? Hey, Bart!!"

Bart, who had been in a trance, staring out after the long departed Tsitra, snapped out. "Oh, sorry, Gascogne.......well, that was the strangest moment here....."

Shrugging, Gascogne could only say, "Well, we got The Key Gem, let's round up our Vandread braves and squaws and head back to the Nirvana tepee."

In the time to come, Bart would later relate to Magno Vivian his experiences and how he seemed to be falling in love with the PSE General, the boss assuring that such unusual and forbidden romances were common, as evidenced by Samson and Delilah, Dave and Bathsheba, Romeo and Juliet and Tony and Maria (remember West Side Story?).

"I wouldn't doubt she and I falling in love," said the helmsman, "but that don't mean she and the Major friend of hers could change their minds."

"They wouldn't dare change their minds," said Magno.

"You willing to bet on that?" said the doubtful Bart.

Long after the Nirvana and The Cornerstone Empire had zoomed into hyperspace en route to Jupiter and its moons, one of which was Europa for the next phase of the Vandread crew's quest, the Hohenzollern, back with the rest of the PSE carrier fleet was abuzz with activity, the Empress and her officers in the bridge.

"How soon will the fleet be ready for lightspeed to Jupiter?" said Pereira.

"Just one minute," said Admiral Xaltocan Chimali, "is all it takes, ETA, 12 minutes time after that."

"Thermo tracker contact, Empress!!" called Officer Cici Kano, who was in charge of the Hohenzollern's radar, sonar, thermo, etc. tracking systems. "Range, 8400, bearing, 3-1-5, grid coordinates 541/770, must be using a stealth fold generator, can't see anything big, yet we've detected huge heat blooms in that section........extreme thermal transients for sure, Balderonian, Hale-Warp engines."

"The Cornerstone Empire?" said Rear Admiral Ilyo Eos. "Only Balderonians use Hale-Warp engines."

"Agreed," said Brittany, "but remember, they took off for hyperspace with the Nirvana, so that new ship must be a prototype built by some other Balderonians.......besides Cornerstone Empire reactors and engines carry a tempature rating of 12,000 degrees Fahrenheit, but that ship's burning at 4000 degrees."

"Only one ship I know," said Gie Bele, "is a prototype ship that uses high temp engines........the ship Vouivre, manned by the evil Electric Boogaloos led by Jiggy Jiggy Juddin."

"Those terrorist prostitutes?" said a shuddering Tsitra. "I thought we'd seen the last of them!!"

"So they're much smarter than I thought," said the Empress. "Those &^$#%^* Balderonians may be a race best known as the most technologically advanced, but what we lack, we can make up for. Order all ships for battle stations, prepare all weapons and Diamantes, yet stand by for lightspeed jump to Jupiter. Battle stations!!"

"Battle stations!!" relayed Admiral Chimali, as throughout the fleet, alarm klaxons blared

Onboard the Vouivre, in the neon lit bridge, Jiggy Jiggy stood in elation as his ship started to close in. "Those Pereira Star Empire bimbos may be safe in their stealth fold generator invisibility, but with our digital thermograph trackers, we can spot them, even with their invisability."

"Sorry, B.P.," sneered Pee Cee Bee, "run, but you can't hide."

"If they only knew," said Harlow, "that inasmuch as they claim to have the most formidable weapons, our weapons happen to be the most advanced. What should we start with first?"

"Prepare missile silo number 21," said Jiggy Jiggy, "and launch a plasma ion warhead tipped SSN 541 missile."

"C'h'ruhsi, ris," said Harlow, manning a general missile control ops section; deep in the capital ship's bowels of the missile silos, a long arm loaded a jet black pencil pointed missile--an SSN 541-- with white Balderonian and english writng on the side, into one of the silos, before a door slid to seal the silo. Then, on the outer surface of the ship, the outer hatch opened.

"Ready," said Harlow. "Missile set for automatic homing, will use heat seeking tracking to lock on the Hohenzollern's largest heat source, distance to target, one mile, 70 feet, missile armed, standing by to launch."

"XOSHRAN!! (LAUNCH!!)" bellowed Jiggy Jiggy.

"Tao!! (Yes!!)" replied Harlow, who slammed her hand on a red crystal launching switch--

--and the SSN 541 shot up out from the silo and was rocketing out to lock on the engines of the PSE's flagship.

"A missile was just launched!!" said Officer Kano. "It went active upon launching and it's locked on our engines......wait, several more were launched, and their phaser cannons and torpedoes have been gearing up....they're coming out from their invisibility, and they're bearing down, missiles coming on fast!!"

"Sheilds up!!" said Brittany. "Launch all countermeasures!!"

"Launching countermeasures, understood!!" said Rear Admiral Eos, who turned to a panel and stabbed several switches. Outside, several cylindrical canisters were flying out from the Hohenzollern's stern before the other carriers followed suit; after that, they exploded in clouds of gas, that drew the missiles off the trail, causing several of them to lock on each other missile's hot engine, destroying each other. Yet all that remained was the first missile that had been launched.....until the Empress gestured at it with the thumb, index and center fingers of her right hand and the SSN 541 blew up. After that, she barked, "Launch the Diamantes and open fire, full percussion firepower!!"

All over the Imperial PSE fleet, thousands of Diamante fightercraft were launched streaking towards the Vouivre, while the phaser cannons, missiles and torpedoes from the carriers were bombarding the said energy sheilded capital ship of The Boogaloos, to the chargrin of Pee Cee Bee, who said, "They know how to jam our missiles, and even now, they've sortied their fightercraft and they're blasting our ship!!"

"FIRE TORPEDOES!!!!" roared Jiggy Jiggy.

Not only did the Vouivre launch salvo after salvo of plasma torpedoes, it also blazed its own phaser cannons and even launch their own prototype hybrid fleet of fighter ships, each one a different hybrid design of ship, each armed with similar weaponry. Yet even while the Vouivre was larger, there were way too many of those Minotaur class carriers making up for what they lacked in size.

"Empress," said General Steg, "you know Jiggy and his fellow Balderonians might get around to using their magical neurological chi of their CTI magic to get the upper hand."

"Not if I can help it," said Pereira. "Remember, their Centralized Telepathic Interface talent is useless under electrostatic stastis projections. Howsoon can the fleet make the jump?"

"Two minutes time," replied Major Taltli, "not much when we got the Vouivre bearing down."

"Stand by to make the jump when the time comes," said the Empress. "All ships, prepare the Stastis Field Projectors."

From each stern of all twelve carriers, a square antennae sprouted upward and trained on the Boogaloos' capital ship, just as the Diamantes headed back to their carriers.

"They're pulling back their Diamantes," said Harlow. "Guess they just couldn't take it."

"Told you those PSE bimbos were wussies," said Jiggy Jiggy. "Let's focus our CTI flux on the single brained Jovians known as Brittany and her merry women and play with their minds."

"Victory is ours," said Pee Cee Bee.

"All ships report in, all Diamantes onboard, with all SFP antennae locked on," said Admiral Chimali.

"Transmit," said Pereira.

Throughout the PSE fleet, the antennae broadcast a brilliant sprialing whte light that engulfed the Vouivre, rendering it, its weapons and its fightercraft fleet useless, and inside the said craft, Jiggy Jiggy and his crew staggered as if they were in the grip of a brain stroke.

"W-what's happening.....?!?" said Jiggy Jiggy. "M-my mind, so zombie like....can't think of a thing, my CTI magic chi fading......."

"They must know how to jam our CTI.......and our ships and weapons!!" said Pee Cee Bee.

"They must be using an electrostatic source," said Harlow. "Only that can disable our CTI."

Back on the Hohenzollern, Admiral Chimali said to Brittany, "We're ready for the jump, course programmed and set."

"Wait 4 seconds," said the Empress, "then switch off the SFPs before the jump."

Four seconds passed......then the antennae stopped projecting the stastis beams, retracted back in their ships, and before the Boogaloos had time to react, the PSE fleet geared up then zoomed into lightspeed, all 12 ships at once.

"Confound it!!!!" roared Jiggy Jiggy. "They got away!!!! Get a fix on their last trajectory, and seek out their heat bloom trails again!!"

"We'll get them one way or another," said Harlow. "My head......."

"At least I still got a head.......," said Pee Cee Bee. "LIke I said, run, but you can't hide."

Emerging from lightspeed near Jupiter, the Nirvana, with the Cornerstone Empire War Machine Synthesis coming on behind, pulled to a stop near Jupiter. And right now, in the council chamber, the C.E. Empress Vanna, Magno, B.C., Gascogne, Meia, Misty and Hibiki were debating on how to carry with the upcoming phase of their mission on Europa, where The Pyramid Of Europa was, and their latest object of their quest, The Green Pyxis.

"Once we get ahold of that Green Pyxis," Gascogne was saying, "the Empress Brittany can't use her Apocalypse Engine."

"But who can say what she may do, given her hybrid magic?" said Meia. "We've seen what it can do, after what happened to Gascogne and Bart as well as Hibiki."

"It's a chance we'll have to take," said B.C., "if we're to thwart Ms. Pereira's plans."

"Supposing we do all that," said Hibiki, who was coughing a bit on his cigarette, "how do we put away the B-gal and her not so merry women away for good?"

"A suggestion, if you will," said Vanna. "Remeber what Jura said in her story, when she was serving the PSE, how she and Cara overheard the Empress' plans for her hired killers, when that head of the Emerald Guard mentioned XEW fumes? Well, that got me thinking on how and why the PSE would use something like that. You see, XEW is a vapor gas drug, used for crowd control to keep the peace and prevent trouble."

"I remember," said Magno, "the Mejere military uses XEW gas to stop any riots, just as the Taarak corps do.........it gives you a serenity tranquil feeling, with no cares, following orders like a zombie..........as such, it also eliminates freedom, however, it works mostly on weak minds, which may explain why it didn't work that much on Jura, Cara and that girl she saved, Tsitra Steg."

"Freedom.......," said Misty. "So what you're saying is that the Empress Brittany controls much of her Imperial personnel by pumping that gas into the ventaiation system of her ships and such, but once that power source for the gas is turned off, they should be out from her power."

Stifling a cough, Hibiki added, "So if we knock out their gas company, the PSE might rebel against their fearless leader........er, what does XEW stand for?"

"Xantho Eleptic Werrenhydrate," replied B.C. "It's a potent yet organic gas which thankfully is nonflammable. So.........how do we know which of the PSE's women were brainwashed by the gas and which ones were truly loyal to their Empress?"

"That would call for one heck of a process of elimination," replied Gascogne, "all touch and go, no less."

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," said the boss. "So it shouldn't be no problem in seeking out The Green Pyxis in The Pyramid Of Europa; Misty, you expertise based on when you and Dita did The Pyramid Of Titan, you should be a big help in getting past the traps to claim The Green Pyxis."

"I'll do whatever it takes, no worries," said the newbie. "Whatever or not if we can get there before the PSE does remains to be seen."

"Let's think positive," said Meia. "So it's official, we assemble a team and land on Europa for the pyramid, infiltrate it and claim that Pyxis."

"Then is everyone set?" said Capt. Vivian.

"YUP!!" said the group.

"Then we'll arrange it as soon as possible when the time is right," said Magno, opening a wall safe and placing The Key Gem in it, before closing it.....and that was when Hibiki, having been stooped over, coughing while valiantly smoking his almost burnt out cigarette, only he was hacking in the worst way, gasping and choking, till he fell to the floor.

"Hibiki? HIBIKI?!?" said B.C.

"I knew it, I knew it!!" said Meia in fear.

"What'll we do?!?" said a fearful Misty.

"He shouldn't been smoking, plain and simple!!" said a disgusted Gascogne.

"Never mind that!!" said Capt. Vivian. "Just get him to Duero, STAT!!"

"And soon!!" added Vanna. "What a day......."

Meia and Misty had just flanked the passed out Hibiki and picked him up; they were getting ready to carry the hothead out, when he pitched his head back and coughed, racking, getting his breath back and pulling loose from Meia and Misty, gasping and staggering, saying, "What's happening?"

"It's like we told you," replied Meia. "Like Dita said, smoking is bad for your health."

"Hear that?" said the boss. "Please don't smoke."

"Please, Hibiki," said Misty, "I care for you so much, and so do Barnette, Dita, Cara, Jura and the rest."

"My sentiments exactly," said Gascogne. "Please don't smoke."

"We don't want to lose you," said B.C.

"How 'bout it, huh?" said Vanna. "At least you not only save your lungs but also everyone else's from that black tarred secondhand smoke."

Taking in huge gulps of breath, Hibiki stood upright and said in a tired out way, "That does it, it's the last straw for me--NO MORE SMOKING!!"

So saying, the hothead took out the last cigarette packs from his pocket and crushed them all in one hand, dropped them to the floor and stomped on them, grinding them with his heel and tossed them in the trash can nearby, the women cheering and hugging the Van mechanic.

1200 yards from where the Nirvana and the Synthesis were, the PSE carrier fleet came out from lightspeed, having eluded The Electric Boogaloos, yet maintaining a distance so as not to be detected by The Cornerstone Empire, nor the Nirvana crew. And in the Hohenzollern's bridge tower, the Empress Brittany stared out through the windows at the unsuspecting quarry. Turning to Admiral Chimali, the Empress said without rancor, "Now we wait."

"Till our spy reports in, right?" said Chimali.

"What do you think?" said the PSE ruler.

In no hurry to reach Europa, the Nirvana crew and its ship drifted on the way to Jupiter's moon, a care free mood settling in with nearly everyone, the War Machine Synthesis following for cover. In the days that followed, Hibiki had to admit quitting his smoking habit had been a wise move, even if he had to deal with his angst in another way which was playing billiards, which he could win at, to Gascogne's chagrin. Now and then, he and Jura, theirsecret love life blossoming bigger and better thatn ever, had been sharing a bed together at night (and no, it's NOT what you think!!), sharing a hold, a kiss and some slumber. But on occasion, the hot head had something he never had, since the war with The Harvest-  
nightmares, in which he was running some dark city alleyways, voices assailing his hearing, the sensitivity intensified with one voice saying, "Even if you win, you might lose--and lose something you cherish the most." Another voice said, "The dance is over, or words to that effect." But the biggest scare was, upon reaching the light at the end of the alleyway, there, at the end, was the evil Empress, who, after giving out the meanest demented laugh, said propheticlly, "You shall NEVER have Jura!!"

"You $^&*%# crazy or something?!!?" charged the Van pilot. "I love her so much and she loves me!!"

"Don't be stupid," said Dita from behind; turning 'round, the mechanic could see the UFO otaku in a PSE uniform, who added, "You belong to my world--you belong to me."

On that, the dream stopped, with Hibiki waking up fast, yelling out his frustration and fear, sweat pouring down his face, strung out till he could calm down with some ice water and answering nature's call. For Hibiki Tokai, perhaps it was just as well he didn't sleep every single night with Jura, after all, the last thingthe hothead wanted was for the blonde Dread pilot to see him like that, a scared coward that acted like such a tough guy on the outside. But in the end, she did, more often than not, holding Hibiki close to her, rocking gently the distressed Van pilot, saying, "And I thought the Empress haunted me in my dreams. But why would she say you'd never have me? Dita maybe, but why Brittany Pereira? What's the connection?"

"I wish I knew........," said the Van pilot. "Scary thought, huh?"

With the Nirvana nearing closer to Europa, Hibiki, after a meal he did, bell peppers and beef, naturally, had been laying on the bed, pondering his fate, when there was a knock on the louvered door, and Dita (of all people) calling out, "Hibiki?"

"I already gave at the office," muttered the Van pilot.

Knocking at the door, Dita said, "Hibiki, please, it's important!!"

"You better be dying," grumbled Hibiki as he got up, went to the door and opened it before saying, "So what's got a bug up your head?"

"I had got to thinking," said the UFO otaku, "that as to how The Harvesters knew of our whereabouts, as did the PSE--I think we've got a spy onboard the Nirvana."

"Sure, Rabat," said the Van pilot, "but he's already dead."

"No, I mean after Rabat, or at least before died," said Dita. "We know Ms. Pereira built those Harvest ships and their drones, so she must've relayed the news from her spy to them. Another thing: How did she know those stolen files you downloaded were in Pyaro? How and why else would her Emerald Guard would head to Taarak to track down and take out Pyaro, thinking those files were still in his hard drive?"

"Now that I think of it........," said Hibiki, "how did they? From what Bart said 'bout the near run in in The Firebird's bathroom hallway with General Steg and Major Taltli, how'd they know we'd be heading to Balderon? Not to mention Titan? So if NASA could arrange a backup team, why not a backup spy? Wait, you saying someone in our group could be a spy?~!~? NO!! I trust anyone; sure, Jura and Cara used to be in The Empire, but they defected. Barnette? She'd have to be a nut to be a spy. B.C.?no, his loyalties stand with Taarak. How could ANYONE be a spy?"

"I don't know........," said the UFO otaku, "but I can't help but sense bad vibes.......I can feel danger."

"You'd best see a shrink," said the hothead, "you're getting freakazoid."

"The word is 'paranoid,' stupid," shot back Dita. "Besides, I know I should've mentioned it sooner, but an afterthought came up. Number one, congrats on you stopping your smoking habits. Number two, I'll say it again: why you wanna hang me out to dry and hang out with Jura? An' before you ask, I've been hearing a lot from you two from Paiway."

"Paiway again," grumbled the Van pilot. "That *%#$^& brat. So whoopie sexin' do."

"What's Jura got that I haven't got," demanded the UFO otaku, other than the fact she's got a body with a rack to match? I thought she only wanted you as a so called 'babymaker'"

"Rumors of that," said Hibiki, who was getting a bit testy, "were greatly exaggerated. At least she's no UFO freak that shows off her midriff day after day, let alone wears that costume jewlery of a tiara, an' called me that CRUMMY Mister Alien outa habit."

"So?" charged Dita, her face red, losing her temper with the hothead for the first time. "My midriff and tiara make me look stylish. And does the word 'pet name' mean anything to you,Know All Hibiki Tokai? Besides, Cara shows off her midriff herself."

"At least she's no ditz like you," said the Van pilot.

"DITZ~~~~~~~?!!!!?" yelled the UFO otaku. "I've given you the benefit of the doubt and all you do is act like a bad tempered butthat of an ingrate after we took you, Duero, and Bart in, gave you food and a place to rest and you act so ungrateful!! I lay down all my love for you, Hibki Tokai, and you never told me you loved me!!"

"What's love got to do with it?" said the hothead. "Anyhow, pet names suck, and I say now's hardly the time to organize a protest. OK, if you may pardon my Russian, I'll spell it out for you,D-I-T-A--I-  
don't----love----you. I love Jura, and she loves me, and we can't abide coveters. At least she's been improving on her cooking skills, much better than you did."

Sighing, a chagrined Dita muttered, "Serves me right for getting her those cook books for her birthday.  
oh well, at least she's learning from them so well. But one thing's for sure--my second nature claims there's bad vibes in the air that say there's a spy onboard the Nirvana, mark my words."

"Your second nature just faw down and go boom," said the Van pilot.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," said the UFO otaku glumly.

The Nirvana was 200 yards from Europa and it was Hibiki's birthday, the fete taking place in the park section of the ship, starting with a barbeque and a jam session of an impromptu band-  
Dita on drums, Gascogne on Fender Rhodes electric piano and synths, Hibiki on Hammond B-3 organ and synths, Meia on lead guitar, Misty on rtythm guitar, Jura on bass, and much of the rest of the group on horns and strings, jamming away at their own version of Get Your Kicks On Route 66, The Hippy Hippy Shake. Life Is A Highway, Surfin' Bird, The Land Of 1000 Dances,Lookin' For A Love, Roll Over Beethoven, Papa Oom Mow Mow, Mama Don't Allow (Hibiki's favorite), Christine Sixteen, Tragedy (as in The Bee Gees classic), Tycoon's Such A Woman, New England's Don't Ever Wanna Lose You, The Who's My Generation, The Beatles' Come Together and finished with their faithful rendition of UFO's Doctor Doctor, after which came the gifts; pots and pans from Meia, a plasma ball from Dita, wine and cheese from Bart, a first aid kit from Duero, platinum playing cards from Gascogne, an Uzi from Barnette, a pair of dice from Cara, a classic DVD on Emeril Lagasse from Misty, a box of chocolates from Jura, and so on.........by which, the Nirvana maids wheeled in an angel food cake with blazing candles--and that was when Dita announced, "OK, here's the cake, so Hibiki here can make a wish, blow out the candles and make a pig of himself."

Despite the others laughing, Hibiki fumed, as did Meia, who rebuked, "That ain't funny, Dita, come on.....Hibiki, make your wish and blow the candles."

"Your crudeness," said Gascogne, "get in here for your cake."

"I already AM in here, OK?" said Hibiki. "So let's get to blowing those candles out."

"We're all havin' to eat that white cake," grumbled Cara. "Echo City, why didn't youse ask for chocolate cake?'

"Seemed like an idea at the time," said the hothead. "Well let's put out that forest fire here."

"Wait," said Jura, "you've got to make your wish first, it's the rules."

"Rules suck," grumbled the Van pilot. "Let's see, I wish--"

"Stop!!" said Dita, who sounded a bit hurt. "You can't say your wish, otherwise it won't come true."

"Bull crap," retorted Hibiki. "Superstistions also suck. I wish the so called Nirvana spy will be revealed."

With that, the hothead blew out the candles and all cheered, but always the annoying, Dita warned, "Now you've done it--you told your wish and it won't come true."

"So what else is new?" said the Van pilot.

Back in the bridge tower of the Hohenzollern, an officer said to the Empress Brittany, "Incoming transmission from our Nirvana spy."

"Onscreen," said Pereira.

Once again the triangle screen came out of nowhere, displaying the mystery female, her face hidden in shadow, the interior of her Nirvana cabin dim lit with the glow of a nearby moon shining through her window as she said, "I await the time to steal The Key Gem and rendezvous with you at Airlock 48 of the Nirvana when we dock."

"You did well," said Brittany. "Wait 15 minutes, then collect up your belongings and pack up, then steal The Key Gem along the way before we meet at the airlock--we'll do the rest. Your work is complete after so many years, Saergent....you can finally come back to the Hohenzollern."

"At last........," breathed the female. "you've got no idea how long I've been waiting for that moment."

"You've got your orders," said the Empress, "initiate them."

"Understood, Empress," said the spy......who at that moment chose to move back from the shadow that hid her--

--and into the streaming moonlight from the window which revealed her as..............Misty Cornwell, who added, "Saergent Cornwell, out."

"Empress Brittany Pereira, out," said Pereira, before the screen vanished. After that, she instructed the crew, "Wait 15 minutes then arrange for the fleet to close in on the Nirvana while we link up with Airlock 48."

After much of the crew and the Vandread team, et al, had finished stuffing themselves with cake, Hibiki related to the others of Dita's theory that there was a spy, Meia, Misty, Cara and Jura paled, but Barnette turned livid and slammed her fist against a lamp post, snarling, "I'll murder the bum!! If I meet that lousy traitor spy, I'll kick its butt!! No----I'l use a piledriver and break the spinal cord!!"

"Calm yourself, Barnette," said Magno. "Dita, you sure?"

"My second nature," replied the UFO otaku, "tells no lies. Don't forget, when we first put together our pirate crew, we didn't know each other at first, in fact, we didn't know Hibiki, Bart and Duero when we first met them."

"And you think it could be me and Cara?" said a frightful Jura. "I tell you we defected!!"

"AAAA----MEN!!" said Cara.

"Let's not get paranoid," said B.C. "We'll post guards in the crucial spaces till we flush that spy before we reach Europa."

"And the sooner, the better," said Misty.

"Right now," said Gascogne, "let's get to the fun part of our birthday shindig--a birthday dance for the birthday boy, H. T."

"Fine," said the hothead, "only I get to pick the tune."

"Sure, knock yourself out," said the supply officer, before the Van pilot went to his MP3 player which had been patched into the sound system, and had it play The Crew Cuts' Sh-Boom; as soon as it started, Parfet was tripping the light fantastic with Duero, Meia with Misty, Cara with Dita (to the UFO otaku's embarrassment), Barnette with Gascogne, Bart with Magno (which was hard since she needed her cane), Paiway with B. C. and (who else?) Jura with Hibiki, as a mirror ball, reflecting off krypton ion lasers of different colors spun, and fog set the mood. For the moment, it seemed there wasn't a care onboard the ship, the Nirvana crew unaware of the impending danger in the works.  
and when the tune finished, Misty said to Meia, "Listen, I got to head for the head, OK?"

"Just don't be scuba diving," said Meia, before her friend ran off........

........and hightailed it to her cabin, changing into her PSE uniform, packing all her clothing and possessions in a backpack, pulling out from under her bed, a two foot square console device with a keyboard, an onmidirectional antenna and a screen which she had used to discreetly communicate with the Empress and her fleet and stuffing it in her pack. Finished, she shouldered her PSE issue phaser crossbow and ran down to the council chamber; using her flashlight, she opened the wall safe, having memorized Vivian's combination, and took out a cystalline T shape with a groove in the center that seemed to almost seperate the two haves of the T--The Key Gem.......and that was when the lights came on, and behind Misty, a machine gun in one hand, was an irate Barnette Orangello, who said, "Intrested in our Key Gem, Rosy Nosy Misty?"

Whirling round in shock, Misty stammered, "Wait, Barnette.....I......I can explain everything."

"Wait?" mocked the gunner. "Wait for what, Benedict Arnold Cornwell? Or is that Cornwall, as in Cornwallis? I had a feeling you were the spy because I noticed how experienced you were when it came to you knowing so much 'bout the 'ol PSE, I mean, why else would those troopers at the gate to their Balderon missile base snap to attention when they saw you in that uniform when you came out from that tank you stole? Or how you took to piloting your Dread like a pro, the same way those PSE Diamante pilots did? Not to mention how much interest you showed at the meeting when it came to The Key Gem and how you were looking foward to The Pyramid Of Europa? But the real clincher is the fact I now see you, with your crossbow and your uniform, stealing The Key Gem from the safe."

"Well, THAT did give me away.......," said a blushing Misty.

"Yup," said Barnette. "Right now, you've got some 'splainin' to do, before I turn you over to Capt. Vivian."

"If you insist.....," said Misty, "I don't like the idea of using dirty tricks and stealing, but I, like it or not, got my orders from the Empress Brittany, to bring The Key Gem to her......forgive me....."

Upon saying that, the blue haired newbie aimed her crossbow at the overhead lighting and blasted it, putting the chamber in the dark, before running out with the Gem, a furious Barnette calling out, "HEY!  
Get back here, you stinkin' traitor!!" and running out after the newbie down the hall.

"The PSE fleet's here?" said the Empress Vanna. "Where'd they come from?"

It was here in the bridge of the C.E.W.M. Synthesis that Tracking Officer Weg Orn had just related the news to Vanna, adding, "My guess is they must've came out from lightspeed at a distance so that our tracking couldn't detect them at first; they're now bearing at 4-1-3, range, 5515, trying to surround the Nirvana, their speed increasing to 70 miles per hour and counting, turning off their stealth fold generators."

Turning to the main telescreen, Vanna, her mother the Govenor Mallory, Xaan, Cid Dorn, Major Kolid Fendleman, Rael Tobias, Gospodin Polkovnik, General Jessica Per, Weg and the rest could see the PSE carriers shimmer into visibility, racing toward the Nirvana like a pride of lions closing in for the kill--and one of them was nearing as a speed faster that the others.

"One of those ships is moving in with a purpose," said Major Fendleman.

"No doubt, it's the Hohenzollern," said General Per.

"We've got to warn the Nirvana, stat," said Mallory.

Turning to her niece, Xaan, Vanna said, "Get ahold of the communications annex to get the Nirvana, NOW!!" Then to Polkovnik, she added, "Full speed on the engines, all cannons and weapons on standby." To Jessica, the Empress spoke, "Order all Manta ships on standby," and last of all, she said to Rael, "Prepare your squadron."

"TAO!!" chorused the said officers.

Back at the Nirvana's park section, Cara had asked Hibiki, "Yo, Biki, how's it feel to had ditched the tobacco stick?"

"Let's just say," replied the jovial hothead, "that I feel a natural high. It's been days since I had my last cig." For good luck, he rapped on the wooden part of a park bench.......and suddenly, there was some shaking up, as if the Nirvana had been taking some hits....and no wonder, for there was a beeping and the alarms sounding, which prompted Celtic to head to a panel nearby and after touching some switches, said to Capt. Vivian, "Incoming message from the C.E.W.M. Synthesis, it's urgent!!"

"Onscreen," said the boss.

In a second, one of the projected screens came with the image of Vanna Traedi who blurted out in fear, "Hey you in there, check what's outside--The Pereira Star Empire, and they've come out from their stealth fold, surrounding you!!"

The instant Celtic turned on a second screen, all could see the now visible gloss green carrier ships crowd in on their quarry, blasting with their phaser cannons, the Hohenzollern moving in fast towards one of the pirate ship's airlocks, and again, the tune Hibiki In A Fret in the background.

"That tears it!!" barked Magno. "Battle stations, MOVE!!"

But even as the bridge staff ran to the bridge, The Cornerstone Empire's Imperial Manta fleet trying to break up the enemy strike, and the remains of the Vandread crew ran down the hall, it was at that point the group stopped, in the hallway and no wonder; they saw someone running down the intersecting hall--someone with blue hair, a back pack, a phaser crossbow and a PSE issue uniform-  
and that someone was Misty, who upon spotting Hibiki and company, froze in fear, stammering, "I......I can explain....."

"What's with the PSE uniform?" said the Van pilot. "Is it Halloween yet?"

"For that matter," said Meia, "how come you're running 'round here?"

"Youse look like youse got your hand in the cookie jar," said Cara.

"What the hey?" said Dita. "Hurry up, Misty, we've got to get to our Dreads and stop those PSE jokers."

"Never mind that," said Jura. "how come Misty's got The Key Gem in her hand?"

It was true; in her haste, Misty had The Key Gem in her hand, without thinking of stashing it in her pack with Barnette chasing her, till she had lost her in the hall, but who could say the gunner would locate the blue haired newbie here? Even so, one glance at the key in Misty's hand told the story, prompting Hibiki to yell out, "Hey!! Misty!!"

That started Misty running down the hall with the Vandread team chasing her, just as Barnette came from behind, calling out, "Stop that Misty, you guys!! I saw her steal The Gem from the safe!! She's the spy for the PSE!! Stop her!!"

"I knew it!!" said Dita with an I-told-you-so manner. "There WAS a spy here, and I had a feeling it had to be Misty!!"

"And I thought Cara and me were the only ones that served in the Empire!!" said Jura worriedly.

"Misty, a spy!!" moaned Meia glumly with the mood of someone who the income tax report. "What a shock!! And I trusted her!!"

"Never trust a stinkin' traitor!!" said Barnette.

Along the way, Gascogne came from one hallway and was running with the pack, saying, "Hey you jokers, the hangar's that way!! We've got PSE carriers to fight!!"

"Hang that!!" said Hibiki. "We've found our spy and it's that %#*^& Misty, who took off with The Key Gem!!"

"Misty's the spy?!?" said the supply officer in disbelief. "I always thought there was something suspicious bout her when she first came on board in the pod. That sucks."

Even as the Vandread team chased Misty, the Hohenzollern, in the midst of the mish mash melee had paked alongside the Nivana, like two ships in the night; on one side of the carrier, a white accordion bellows like square shaped passage extended out from the carrier and linked up with one of the Nirvana's airlocks. Up in the bridge, Admiral Chimali said to the Empress, "Vestibule secure. All pressures equalized."

"You've got the conn," said Brittany. Then turning to a quartet of Emerald Guard shock troops, she said to them, "Starker, Acitcalag, Noivo, Aiepoissac, let's go."

"UNDERSTOOD!!" chorused the troopers before following their ruler, their weapons at the ready.

Up in the Nirvana's bridge, the staff was tracking the enemy ships taking a few potshots, the valiant efforts of the Manta fleet and the Synthesis detaining them, when there was a buzzing noise that had B.C. turn to a screen the depicted one of the pirate ship's airlocks already opening. "We've been breached!!" he said to Capt. Vivian.

Airlock 48 was where Misty came to a stop, one hand on the controls and the other with her crossbow, now aimed at the Vandread crew that had just stopped a yard ahead of her, the blue haired newbie saying, "Stop!! I won't fight, but I got my weapon set for stun. And before you ask,  
the truth should be known--I AM a spy, comssioned by The Pereira Star Empire. Permit me to reintroduce myself--I am Misty Cornwell, Saergent of the Hohenzollern's 440th Diamante Squadron."

"Just as I thought!!" said Hibiki. "You're stupid for having a lot of guts to gain our trust to be a friend, but in reality behaving as a spy!! You're *%#$^& STUPID!!!!"

"Misty," sobbed Meia, "I...............I trusted you........!! We were like sisters..................and now you're breaking my heart."

"Why I kissed you that one time," said Jura, "is beyond me. Traitors like you should be lynched at dawn!!"

"Shame, shame on you!! For shame!!" charged Dita.

"Youse bad news," said Cara.

"You should be horsewhipped--thouroughly horsewhipped," said Gascogne.

"It's all over, you stinkin' traitor," said Barnette.

"I don't blame you all for how you feel for me," said Misty somberly, "but unlike the Empress I ain't technically a real enemy, per se. Even if it's once a spy, always a spy, I don't like my job in the Empire one bit. You could say,  
that like Jura, Cara, General Steg and Major Taltli, I too, am strong minded which can make me immune to the Empress' XEW gas she uses. Yet, if I didn't follow her orders, I would've met a death worse than fate."

"The same old sad song and dance," said Meia. "Come on, get real!!"

"Like I said," said Dita, "my second nature tells no lies."

"At least hear me out," said Misty.

"Then get those &^$%*# jaws hoppin'," muttered Hibiki.

"I was," said Misty, "born on Pluto, that part was real, and long after my parents died, I took up piloting fighter craft as a test pilot for some cut rate company,  
until a huge carrier came flying in the sky, using its weapons to demolish the factory I was working for; I was flying high in the sky at the time, and when I saw what the carrier--the Hohenzollern--did, I took off, flying from the scene, but the ship chased me down and in the end, used its tractor beam to pull me onboard where I was captured.  
After that, the Empress Brittany, said to me that she had been impressed my flying skills so she offered to spare my life if I joined her Empire--which I did, otherwise I would've been earmarked for the firing squad if I refused. What was I to do? Take it as a doubt if you don't believe me."

"And so on and so on.......," said Jura.

"At the time of the war between you and the Empress' Harvester creations," said Misty, "she had Rabat as a vassal for her espionage purposes on the Nirvana crew, but fearing that one day Rabat would get untrustworthy and take off on his own independant conquests, Ms. Pereira chose to send in a back up spy, and that was when she chose me for the task--to infiltrate the Nirvana and discreetly report to her your activities so she could route her Harvest to her evil gains."

At that, Hibiki's fists were clenched and shaking in rage while the Van pilot grumbled, "*%#$^&."

"When the time was right," added the blue haired newbie, the Hohenzollern drew in close to the Nirvana, hidden in its stealth fold yet staying far from your tracking range, then a pod was prepared for me, in which I was placed under cold sleep, then my back pack, which was packed with my belongings along with my Imperial issue communicator, which I used to report to the Empress, in a secret compartment in the pod, which I recovered long after I got settled in. The pod's onboard computer, by the by, was programmed with false info 'bout me, save for the fact I did come from Pluto, after that, I was jettisoned to your ship and the rest is history. I had hoped that when the war with the Harvest had stopped, I would be free but the Empress gave me a new mission to stay with you till we had claimed The Key Gem after she came up with The Apocalyspe Engine. You see, prior to our reunion, she had entrusted the plans for that weapon to her spy network on Taarak and transmitted a back up copy online there--how were we to know Hibiki's computer and Pyaro would intercept the broadcast? Anyhow, that was how it was with me and The PSE--no compromises."

"Youse an' that ^&$*%# PSE," said Cara. "What 'bout our lives? Did ol' B. P. consider that Gem an' the Green the only priority an' that our lives were secondary when the time was right?"

"What do you think?" said the newbie as the airlock's inner hatch opened and the Empress Brittany and her Emerald Guard, their weapons aimed at the Vandread team, entered, the evil ruler taking The Key Gem from Misty, saying, "You did well, Saergent, congratulations. So that is the famous Nirvana......it sure don't look so tacky in matters of decor--not bad for a bunch of L7 sods."

Naturally, Hibiki (who else?) rumbled at Pereira, "You're the lowest........and so is Misty here....."

"Now that wasn't nice," said Brittany, just as a squad of Nirvana troops showed up with their weapons behind the Vandread crew, their leader saying, "Give it up, Ms. Pereira!! You're surrounded!!"

"What the bloody $&^*#% difference does it make how many people you use to oppose me?" said the PSE ruler. Like it or not, you've got to do as I say." And saying so, she gestured with her right hand and some unseen force shoved the Vandread crew and the troops hard, far down the hall in a pile up,  
before she, her troops and Misty (who said, "Sorry, Hibiki....we had some rockin' times together then, and forgive me too, sister Meia.") ran back into the airlock, the hatches closing........

Shaking out the cobwebs from their heads, Hibiki and company came back to their senses before Gascognesaid, "Well, let's look on the bright side....at least Hibiki got his birthday wish....."

The task complete, the Hohenzollern retracted its vestibule from Airlock 48 and took off, building up in speed, followed by the other carriers, breaking off the battle with the Nirvana, the Cornerstone Empire's Manta fleet and the C.E.W.M. Synthesis before all carriers went back under their stealth folds of invisibility.  
Already onboard the said War Machine, the Empress Vanna and her group saw what happened and sensed the immient outcome.

"We've lost a battle, yet sustained no casualties, we must try harder," said Vanna.

"How?" said Mallory. "If Brittany succeeds with The Green Pyxis, the fate of the Nirvana and our Conerstone Empire, if not Balderon, not to mention the universe, is sealed."

"So?" said General Per. "No one's perfect."

Shades of Benedict Arnold!! So that is it!! Misty is the spy!! And what's worse, with the blue haired newbie's help, the evil Empress got The Key Gem, which means yet another Pyramid and The Green Pyxis meaning Apocalypse Engine fuel!! But then, like General Per said, no one's perfect. The only hope is for Hibiki and co. to get the Gem back before Ms. Pereira uses it, sure, right. Boy, life stinks, don't it?

--a440

Next: Chapter 16: Expect The Unexpected 


	17. Expect The Unexpected

Hoo hah!! Things just got worse in the worst way, now that Ms. Pereira's got a head start

CHAPTER 16: EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED

Hunkered over her computer terminal, Gascogne muttered,  
"One code changed, twelve more rermaining."

Barnette, who was pacing near her, grumbled. "All because of that stinkin' traitor Misty. I had Parfet check out the CPU in Misty's pod, and save for her name, everythin 'bout her is a fakeroo."

"That &^$#&*% PSE," grumbled Hibiki, "I could kick myself for trustin' her."

"We all could," muttered Meia. "but how were we to know she was in cahoots with the PSE?"

"We knew, all right," said a glum Dita,"the hard way. %*#$^&!!"

"Anyway you slice it," said Bart, "that sucks. Great flyin' dog do."

"Now ain't that a drag?" said Cara. Just like what Brutus did to Caesar, givin' new meaning to 'backstabber.'"

"Friends, Romans, countymen an' women," said Barnette, "lend me your gears.I have come to backstab Caesar and steal his Key Gem durning a birthday, not to praise him."

"Boooooooooo, boooooooooooo, boooooooooo, booooooooooo," said Jura. "Et tu, Brute?"

"Now, look," said B.C., "what's done is done.....we've just got to figure out what to do next."

"It's already been done," said Captain Vivian, who had just entered, adding, "B.C., I want you, Gascogne and Bart to take the Vandread team in the shuttle and land on Europa; knowing Brittany, she'll no doubt be on guard against our Dread fleet. You see, they only hope is to get to The Pyramid Of Europa, and when The PSE opens up that entrance, we'll get in there and get that Green Pyxis before they do."

"No objection in mind," said a doubtful Gascogne, "but it'd be suicide, trying to challenge the Empress; we've seen what she can do, after what happened to Rabat."

"It's a chance we'll have to take," said Vivian, "Maybe Ms. Pereira's got some kind of weaknees, who knows? We'll cross that brigde when we come to it. I mean, to quote the legendary Spike Spiegel, whatever happens, happens."

"Captain," said Bart, "that is 'nuff to get my nubs on my bald head standin' on end."

"Ah, what the hey?" said Hibiki. "I just wanna get there an' kick butt, for we're the champions."

Within moments, the Nirvana shuttle, with Gascogne piloting, and Hibiki's MP3 player playing Dave Edmunds' I Hear You Knocking, was skimming over the Europa landscape, which was 30% forest; 50 yards ahead, next to the now landed Hohenzollern, surrounded by thousands of Emerald Guard shock troops, was a pyramid shaped giant standing 70 feet tall, made of jade--The Pyramid Of Europa.

"Well, we're there," said B.C. "Whatever you do, stay on your toes, got it?"

"I just wanna stick it to that Empress," muttered Gascogne.

"And I just want to pick a bone with Misty and get to what she knows behind all the hoo hah behind the Empire,"said a worried Meia.

Standing before the 12 foot tall thick slab of an entrance door, the Empress Brittany Pereira, with General Steg, Major Taltli and Seargent Misty Cornwell at her side, placed The Key Gem, in a socket shaped like the key, located next to the door, which rose up with a grating sound.

"Soon, Gascogne.......," muttered Pereira, "....soon....."

"Victory is ours, Empress," said Misty.

"Not just yet, Seargent," assured Brittany. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it; after all, you said so yourself that the designers of the pyramid laid out traps for the unwary, just as they did so for The Pyramid Of Titan."

"No, I wouldn't doubt that," said Misty. The difference is, that unlike the ones in The Pyramid Of Titan, the traps here can be more complicated than a marathon session of Libble Rabble."

"Then let's just see indeed," said the PSE ruler, as she and her officers entered, heading down a 15 foot long hallway, into a red marble walled chamber. Ahead was a rectangular door, with a crystalline red triangle shaped template; Pereira reached out to push it--and she drew back, saying, "Wait--something's not right......" Reaching out toward the template with her right hand thumb, index and center finger, Brittany paused before saying, "I thought so--it's a terminal charged with 7000 volts A.C., which means the switch for the bulkhead is hidden, well, I'll just....." With her said fingers, she skimmed along the left side of the door, and stopped at a section of it, then pushed in on the wall, a small door springing open, with an identical switch beneath.

"As expected," said the PSE ruler, who pushed the hidden template, causing the door to slide aside with a hiss; she slammed the plate, hiding the switch and she and her officers went into the next chamber, the door slamming with a clang and a heavy hiss, a minute before B.C.  
and company entered the red walled chamber.

"I knew it," said B.C. "It sure didn't take them long get there."

"Then it shouldn't take ourselves long to get to that Pyxis first before they do," said Hibiki, who reached for the fake template switch, until Dita grabbed his arm, saying, "Wait!! You know I was in that other pyramid, right? Well, there might be traps here just like the other one. Did you ever stop to think that switch could be a trap? I mean, it looks too easy."

"So does a door handle," shot back the hothead.

"Not in a jail," said Gascogne. "Aesop did say apperences can be deceiving."

"Step aside," said Jura, who had out her sword, the handle covered in a thick cloth; she reached out with it, the tip of the blade an inch or so close to the template--and a brilliant bolt shot out from the switch to the sword tip, the blade smoldering from the high voltage, but by covering the handle with the cloth, the blonde Dread pilot had saved herself from the lethal jolt.

"Electrified switch," said Meia. "No doubt, the real switch is concealed."

"An' I just found it," said Cara, who had leaned up against the wall, causing the hidden panel to spring open, before pushing the hidden switch and opening the door.

"Way to go, Cara," said Bart. "You might get the Lara Croft Seal Of Approval yet."

Even now, in the second chamber, which had yellow walls, the Empress was examining two panels flanking the door ahead; each panel had 48 square like templates, each with many different ornate designs on each temple, no pattern alike.

"Whatever you do," Pereira said to her officers, "DON'T TOUCH A THING--the floor we're trodding upon is charged with explosives, so wait as I examine the hidden key within the so called Chinese puzzle........"

After some time of looking over the panels, Brittany said in a haughty way, "Whoever designed and built that pyramid, is bloody mistaken when it comes to trying to confound me with such 're mistaken in thinking that I couldn't locate the real switch, on the right hand panel, fourth row up, extreme right template...."

With one hand, the PSE ruler reached out and pushed that particular switch, and the door opened, Brittany and her court stepping through, the door closing behind them, and the Vandread team showing up as before.

"Great," muttered B.C., "a set of hyeroglyphics."

"Nope......," said Barnette, "looks more like those try-to-figure-out-which-switch-opens-  
the-door-without-setting-off-a-trap-system......let's see......"

Taking out a sheet of wax paper and a china marker, the gunner placed it on the left hand panel and traced each of the designs on the tiles with the marker, then laid the finished sheet on the right hand panel and muttered, "One half....one inch......bingo." Taking off the improvised overlay,  
she turned to the others and said, "I think I got it figured out."

"Lay it on me, B.O.," said Hibiki.

"What's on your mind?" said B.C.

"Any idea?" said Meia.

"What's the clue?" said Gascogne.

"It's an old theory," said the gunner, "but I traced the patterns on the left panel, and of all the patterns, only one matches with one of the patterns on the right panel; it's also the simplest of patterns compared to the other fancy looking ones, so the simplest pattern must be the one that opens the door."

"You mean that straight vertical line there?" said Dita. "What makes you so sure?"

"They say the shortest distance," said Barnette, "between two points is a straight line, right? A straight line is the simplest thing, so....." Saying so, the gunner pushed in template with the line pattern.....and the door opened.

"Brilliant," said B.C. "Let's go."

With the door open, the group entered, into a chanmber with lime green walls; ahead was yet another door,  
only with no signs of a switch to open it--and that was when a plexiglass tube appeared out of nowhere to encase the careless Hibiki, who squawked, "Hey, what gives?!? Lemme outa that %#*&^$ tube!!"

"Hibiki!!" exclaimed Dita. "Someone, anyone please help!!"

"Step back," said Barnette, who aimed one of her machine guns at the tube and took a shot, the bullets bouncing off the tube which had much of the crew running for cover and a livid Meia shouting, "Stop that ^&$%*# gun, Barnette, what you trying to do?!?"

"Bulletproof glass, eh?" said Jura. "Step aside, I'll hack through that." Using her sword. she tried to whack through the tube--all to no avail, resulting in an exhausted Dread diva who gasped in her breath, "They don't make swords the way they used to."

"Must be some jet age glassworks that went into building that tube," said Gascogne. "Maybe my phaser cutter can bore through that, well, we'll just....."

Producing a slim gold tube, the supply officer touched a stud and a needle sized beam came out, trying to cut the glass, but there was a lot of smoke that stunk up the room until the supply officer said, "NO good--that stuff is tough."

At that moment, a deep voice, filled with reverb and echo, spoke out from somewhere in the chamber: "Welcome to The Pyramid Of Europa......I am one of many guardians here, deciding those worthy to pass through here; the two switches in the crucible you stand in will determine your fate."

Looking up, Hibiki could see, an inch before his face, the facing side of the tube--with two red crystal triangle siwtches,  
just like the ones used for the first chamber, and that was when the voice added, "One switch will set you free, the other will spell death for you. Which of the two do you think will set you free? Choose--keep in mind, the guardians here have been known to tell lies on occasion, to confound our enemies; ask any yes/no questions you like, they may save you."

"Looks like we've got a brain teaser for sure," said B.C., "several, if we want to save Hibiki."

"Oh, great," moaned Dita glumly. "Is there another way out from the trap, guardian?"

"No," said the voice.

"One of the switches doesn't also open the door ahead?" said the UFO otaku.

"No," said the unseen voice.

"Is the upper switch the freendom switch?" said Dita.

"Yes," said the guardian voice.

"Well, what now?" said Cara. "If that guardian tells lies on occasion, how do we know which one's the truth?"

"Wait," said Bart. "Guardian, your job is to decide who's worthy to enter the pyramid, right?"

"Yes," said the voice.

"Do you always tell the truth?" said the pilot.

"Yes," said the unseen guardian.

"Did you tell the truth just now?" said the bishounen helmsman.

"No," replied the voice.

"Bingo," said Bart. "he told the truth every third time, which means the bottom switch is the death switch,  
so, the top switch is the one."

"If it don't work," warned Hibiki, "I'll kick your BUT-TOCKS."

"How can you, if you've died?" said Bart.

"I'll just come back as a ghost," said the hothead.

"Lay off the wisecracks, huh?" chided Meia. "Just push the switch and hope and pray."

"Don't think it's been knowing you.....," said the hothead, before he reached out and pushed the top switch........and the tube faded from sight, setting the Van pilot free and opening the door, before the Nirvana team ran inside, entering a ice blue walled chamber with a long hallway the was wide with a black and white checkered floor, and the door at the other end, with a single red crystal switch next to it.

"Say, how'd you know that strategy you just used would reveal the freedom switch?" said Barnette to Bart.

"From seeing reruns of Dr. Who," replied the bald Nirvana helmsman.

"It worked, didn't it?" said Gascogne."Bart, you're my male counterpart, for sure, you know that? What now,  
B.C.?"

"I say we we proceed ahead," said the first mate, before Dita held up a hand, saying, "Wait.......that floor pattern looks familiar.......Jura, loan me your sword for a bit...."

Just as she did before in The Pyramid Of Titan, the UFO otaku used the tip of Jura's sword to tap on the checkered floor as before, first tapping on a black square........then tapping on a white square, which triggered several red phaserbolts to blast down from the ceiling overhead.

"Great flyin' dog do," grumbled the Vanguard pilot. "All the white squares were wired for death. Now what?!?"

"Anyone for hopscotch?" said Dita before she, before anyone could stop her, began jumping from one black tile to another, safely reaching the other side; the others hesitantly follwed suit, Hibiki muttering, "Boy, am I lucky my ol' gramps ain't here to see that."

"Stop actin' like a retard an' get down an' get with it," said Cara.

"Right now," said Jura, "the only retard I know is old Scramble Brains Brittany Pereira."

"And Misty," said Meia, "yet I can't help but sense some kind of......not a Je Ne Sais Quoi,  
like there was some kind of good in her."

"In that stinkin' traitor?" said Barnette. "Don't make me laugh."

Upon reaching the other side of the checkered booby trap, the group arrived at the door; Jura, having reclaimed her sword, reached out to the switch, no shocking bolt, then pushed it and the door opened before the Nirvana crew exited the chamber.

Up ahead, in a purple walled chamber, before an unmarked door with a electric eye shaped like the eye of Ra, the evil Empress, with Misty, the General and the Major in tow examined the simple yet ornate setup, then Pereira said, "At last.........now for the ritual password to enter the pyramid......"

"The sign of the eye," said Misty, somberly.

"Right said," said Brittany, using the same hand gestures just as Dita had done; the door opened, and the evil sorceress ruler and her court entered.........but at the other end of the chamber, which had a dim lit gauntlet in the center of the chamber, with a single shaft of red light pouring down from the ceiling to the floor. And standing before that section were B.C. and company....until Gascogne held up a hand, saying,  
"Stop........" Then pointing to the red light, she added, "Stay out of the red light.......I got a feeling it may be a trigger......"

For a moment, no one moved.....then the supply officer, borrowing Jura's sword, stuck the blade into the gautlet, and into the light, then pulled it out in time before several hydraulic actuated spear like spikes, shot out from both walls, clanging together, a half skeleton half flesh corpse impaled on some of the spikes.  
Then, after a minute, they retracted back into the walls, yet Hibiki and company stared at that trap section transfixed like till Gascogne said, "Just follow me--and DON'T TOUCH THE LIGHT, got it?"

One by one, each of the crew members walked with a slow achingly step, skirting the light, noticing the tips of the spikes hidden in the recesses of the walls, till each one was safe on the other side--where the door was-  
and upon seeing the eye of Ra, Dita wasted no time in doing the sign of the eye which opened the door, before B.C. led the crew in though the door saying, "I hope we're in time."

"Somehow," said Gascogne, "I got a bad feeling I don't think so."

"You can say that again," said a fearful Bart.

Inside a vast hexagonal chamber decorated with ornate Egyptian glyphs and art, resting in the center, was a green orb dwarfing the Empress Brittany and her court--The Green Pyxis, the evil ruler, saying, "Now victory is truly ours; once I get it installed in The Apocalypse Engine upon its creation, no one, I mean no one will possess the gumption to oppose The PSE, as if their lives depended on it....now let's temp shrink it for easy transport.........."

With one hand, Pereira gestured to The Green Pyxis and engulfed it in green electric bolts, causing the sphere to shrink till it was the size of a marble, then pocketed it in her dress pocket....and that was when the Nirvana crew ran in,  
Gascogne saying, "Brittany, stop!!"

Turning to her adversaries, the PSE ruler said without rancor, "You're too late, L7 sods. The Green Pyxis is mine so why don't you toddle off like good little sods, swallow your pride and enjoy it?"

"Not on your life," said B.C. "you can't escape justice forever, make no mistake."

"Payback time for the crummy stuff you did to me an' my buds," said Hibiki. "Maybe our maker may forgive a ^&$#  
like you, but I won't."

"Gals like you should be lynched at dawn, even if it's raining," said Barnette.

"For shame!!" charged Cara.

"I heard you had an idea once," said Dita, "but it died of lonliness."

"Give up now, you ol' gimp," said Bart, who spotted General Steg who froze in surprise and mouthed Bart's name, with Major Taltli spellbound.  
"Beat it, Pereira," charged Jura, "and leave me and my friends alone, WILL YOU?!!?"

That was when a somber Misty said, "You shouldn't have come back, Meia. In coming here, you've put not only yourself, but the Nirvana crew in jeopardy, and I don't mean the game show."

"Not so fast," said Meia. "Misty Cornwell--if it's your name--how could you sell out to a devil diva? How could you break my heart like that? You looked up to me as a sister, and you broke my heart--what's the matter with you?!?"

"Please understand," said the blue haired newbie, "I had no choice, I was, for all practical purposes, following orders from The Empress, lest I too, be earmarked to fight in a pirahna tank like Jura did......forgive me."

"Hang the forgiving," charged Brittany, who turned to a fuming Gascogne and said, "Long time, no see, Gasco.I was wondering if we'd meet again in some mano a mano."

"Listen, you %*#$^&," charged the supply officer, "how many times must I tell you, it's GASCOGNE!! Don't tell me you forgot."

"So I ruddy forgot, big deal," shot back Pereira.

"I asked you NOT to tell me that!!" said Gascogne. "Anyhow, there's nine of us and only four of you, so the odds stand on our side."

"Not when you consider the fact," said Pereira, "that with my magic, I can decrease those odds."

Just then, B.C. took it upon herself to use her whip to snare and grapple onto one of the Empress' wrists--

--but the Taarak male that had been transformed into a female for undercover work with the fastest whip was't fast to outwit the cruel PSE ruler, who lightning fast glanced at the oncoming whip and gestured to it, causing the tough rhino hide whip to freeze up like ice and crumble to snow.

"That was my new whip," said B.C. in dismay, "I just bought it."

"I don't care what you bought," said the PSE ruler. "yet I wish you HAD bought it in the worst way. Anyhow, that was a stupid thing to do."

At that point, Dita and Barnette aimed their guns at the Empress and opened fire, but before their phaserbolts could reach their target, Brittany lifted a hand and effortlessly deflected the bolts, crashingin into the wall and making shards of plaster fall by the wayside, Pereira saying, "Is that the best you can do? If that is your best, your best won't do." Then she sweeped with her hand at the group, and to the surprise of her officers, a brilliant crystal blue wave of energy, shaped like a cresent, surged out fast to the Vandread crew and before they had time to react and run from that juggernaut, that wave hit them hard in a mild electric shock which knocked them out, every one of the crew crumbling to the floor. At the same time, all the doors in all the pyramid's chambers opened, leading to the outside.

"You killed them.....?!?" breathed Misty.

"With a stun wave?" said Pereira. "Unlikely. I got plans for those sods. We got what we came for so let's alert the rest of the staff to make ready for Ganymede--but first....."

Gesturing to the knocked out Vandread crew, Brittany enveloped them just as she had done to The Green Pyxis, shrinking them down to one inch, then pocketing them, saying, "Right. Let's go."

Outside the pyramid, the evil Empress and her court and her Emerald Guard spotted the shuttle nearby several yard; it too was also shrunk and in Pereira's pocket before she and her criminal crew were back onboard the Hohenzollern, which in turn, took off and was soon in the starry relm of space, its destination, Ganymede.

Deep in the central sprawling bowels of the carrier's hangar section, the Empress enlarged the Nirvana shuttle, along with its crew,  
and turned to an officer and said, "Ready a tractor beam for that shuttle just in case--and tell the rest of the Guard to pick up those Vandread sods and get them to the detention chambers.....oh, and prepare Basil Elden for her prelude........."

"Understood," said the officer.

How's that for a head start? The Empress Brittany got The Green Pyxis, along with the Vandread team!! Anyone that says that the good guys (and gals) always win, is mistaken, and it seems the matters at hand got worse. And even worse still. Not as worse than the world economy, but still worse. You get the idea.

--a440.

Next: Chapter 17: The Tension Mounts 


	18. The Tension Mounts

The matters get heavy and the deal gets worse, all brought to you by Ms.  
Pereira and her PSE

CHAPTER 17: THE TENSION MOUNTS

After the effects of the Empress' stun wave had worn off, Hibiki woke up inside an almost dim lit with green neon light, a dingy detention chamber with black walls, a sink and toilet,  
a bed the size of a twin, with the overall size of the chamber the size of an avarage mom and pop motel room, and Barnette and B. C. nearby, the former saying, "'Bout time you woke up, poop-a-doop. We were worried we wouldn't wake up at all."

Getting up, and settling down on the bunk bed, the hothead said, "Reckon the others must be in a different cell."

"Seems that way," said B.C. "If only Gascogne hadn't been so reckless, we wouldn't had walked into the trap we're in now.  
Now we've got to prepare for the worst."

"All because of that stinkin' traitor," muttered Barnette. "That ^&$*%# Misty Cornwell an' that Brittany Pereira. Bastards,  
everyone of them."

"Just shows you how much life is full of bull crap," grumbled Hibiki. "Now we're doomed to be roach muffins."

"Roach muffins?" said B.C., sounding nonplussed. "Hibiki, we're in a jail, you're allowed to curse, just like Barnette here.  
even when we're treated like ca-ca poo-poo."

"Roach muffins or ca-ca poo-poo," said Barnette in disgust.  
"Either way, we're losers."

In another part of the flagship carrier, Jura had been secured to a mirrored stainless steel table, the straps preventing her from ruining the plans the Empress Pereira and some of her Emerald Guard staff at the ready, the PSE ruler standing near a larger than avarage control ops panel--and above Jura and the table, were, mounted on an overhead ceiling housing, were twelve crystal insulated copper electrodes, with ominous looking arrow like points, all aimed at the Dread diva.

"You understand your task at hand, I hope," said Brittany to a Emerald Guard shocktrooper nearby named Lt. Irato Oiek.

"Understood," said Oiek. "After you depart, I take it from here in the hour long torture session, then we bring the traitorus Basil Elden back to the detention chamber."

"Just as long as you don't end her life," said Pereira. "I want her alive for what I got in mind, and that the torture is a prelude to her fate, her sentence for treason, as per Imperial standard procedure."

"Understood," said Oiek.

That said, the PSE ruler turned two dials, and the electrodes glowed red, sparking with blue electric bolts, their housing decending down to Jura, who cringed, taking in fast breaths, and then, when they were a foot high up above Jura, and then the blue bolts shot from them, into the blonde's convulsing body.

Outside the chamber, guarded by four Emerald Guard troops, on the other side of the green neon lit hall, were Misty, General Steg and Major Taltli; upon hearing the first of Jura's 15 decibel shrieks of pain, their faces were etched with regret before Brittany exited the chamber, the door slamming to dampen (not by much) the Dread diva's 15 dB yells, then with the other ladies in tow, she went down the hall.

"Victory is ours, Cornwell, " Pereira was saying. "Once we line Basil Elden and her mates before the firing squad, we can carry on with the compeltion of The Apocalypse Engine....which reminds me--Misty, I want you, the General and the Major to be the firing squad, given your prowess in marksmanship, or is that.....markswomanship? No matter; the shooting schedule is set in an hour's time, so try to be there."

"Understood," chorused the other women.

In another cell, Bart was pacing the floor, Meia was quiet, Dita was twiddling her thumbs., Cara was slumped along the wall and Gascogne was on the bunk, cursing her mistakes, muttering,  
"I let it happen....I gave in to my revenge........I gave in to my carelessness......worse still, I forgot to smile....*#%$^&!! I ain't the officer I thought I was!!" Getting up, she balled up one fist, glowering in frustration. "We lost!! Everyone.........forgive me......"

"It could happen to anyone," said Meia. "No one is perfect--it's human to make a mistake."

"An' I say losin' sucks," said Cara. "We're outa our league when compred to the Empress' power.  
We ain't no match against her. At least we didn't meet the same fate Rabat did........but the fact is: Brittany Pereira is a wreckin' machine--an' she's hungry!!"

"She'll finish off our hides," moaned Bart, "inside of 2.3 seconds."

"That does it," said Dita glumly. "We're gooners."

"You mean goners," said a testy Meia. "At least we'll die as brave martyrs for what we believe in."

Pulling out an old newspaper clipping, Gascogne stared at it, saying, "There's GOT to be some weak spot in her, someway, something I missed."

The clipping depicted the PSE ruler leading her troops making a raid in some building, when Meia spotted something and said, "When'd you get that clipping? According to the date, it was taken 50 years ago. How could Ms. Pereira still have the same face if not the same youth?"

"What the hell?" said Dita, who craned her head to take a look at the photo; the Empress that they had met in the pyramid somehow had the same look in the photo, as if she had been frozen in 21 years time.

"Her magic," said Gascogne, "must have a side effect that enables her to be ageless.........if that Green Pyxis had a fragment broken off, she must've turned it into that pendant she wears, which in turn gives her the sorceress power, and at the same time, gives her eternal life.......if that pendant were broken, maybe gotten rid of........"

Hibiki and the rest had been laying around, bored to the skull, when they heard some foootsteps; getting up,  
they braced for the worst, and then the door slid up.....and then Lt. Oiek and Officer Acitcalag arrived, carrying the inert Jura between them, shoved her in the cell and the door was closing faster than a lizard tongue snatching a dragonfly, the Dread diva worn out to the point of collapse, laying on the steel floor, moaning, "I feel like a charged battery."

Getting up, Hibiki and Barnette helped the blonde up to her feet and placed her on the bunk, the Dread diva moaning, "Those bastards........they jolted me with 112 volts of A.C., yet......they never asked me any questions........."  
Here, Jura was bawling like a terrified 4 year old girl, weeping in tears covering her face.

"Nuttin' is sacred to those PSE devils," muttered Barnette. "Wait'll I get my.....!!"

"Wait in line, like everyone else, B.O.," grumbled Hibiki. "I just hope Jura wasn't that badly hurt......"

"Not after what happened," said B.C. "Until we can learn just what is Ms. Pereira's Achilles heel, we'd best stay away from her--uh, if you don't know what that means, ask your folks."

For some time, the group mulled over their fate, Jura gradually recovering, until the door opened and Lt. Oiek and Acitcalag came, along with many Imperial Emerald Guard troops, their phasers all aimed at the Nirvana group.

"The Empress wants you in the arena, ASAP," said Oiek, "and she means all of you, no joke."

In a vast arena, no doubt the same arena where Jura had her pihrana fight with the General years ago,  
the gallery railings were crowded with Imperial PSE personnel, some of them using camera eyes to cover the event,  
the Empress among the higher uppermost catwalk alongside the Admiral and the Rear Admiral. To the left were a platoon of Emerald Guard troops, standing by some support cololums, and to the right, with their phaser crossbows, were Misty, the General and the Major. And right now, several more PSE troops were herding the whole Vandread crew into the arena, lining them with the support beams, then using leather straps to secure each crew member to a post.

"Illustrious members and warriors of The Pereira Star Empire," Brittany said, using a stereo P.A. system,  
"today, after so long, the death sentence on the Vandread crew is finally here; to everyone else throughout the Hohenzollern, I say to you that tickets can be bought now in 15 minutes time, for 15 ingots at the main hangars, and for the rest of you staff, you will have a holiday as we televise the event on our public register video screens all over thae ship. Right now, we can get started as soon as the ticket holders arrive."

In 15 minutes time, the ticket holders did arrive, and soon the arena was packed. After that, the Empress spoke, "To the L7 sods known as the Vandread crew, you stand accused of dissident actions against The Empire, And to one of those said sods in particular, Jura Basil Elden, you've been found guilty of high treason to my Empire. I thought of you as the most virtuoso Ace Of Aces then, but now, you're Jovian fodder for my Harvest. But no, even my Harvest wouldn't take you to process your fat hide on a bet. Anyhow, I also add to you all, the fact you just couldn't man and woman up and be macho and femmie in order to be C moon. as such, the sentence for all you sods is death from my firing squad, comprised of Sergent Cornwell, General Steg and Major Taltli, who of all of PSE staff, if not the Emerald Guard, happen to be crack sharpshooters in which it takes precision marksmanship to achvive the task at hand. Any last words?"

"Listen, Ms. B.P.," said Hibiki," We ain't no L7 sods. Got it?"

"There's nuttin' to fear but fear itself," said Bart.

"Even if you blast our hides to bits," said Gascogne, "at least we died bravely as martyrs, safe in the knowledge, that someone else will take our places and put you and your bunch away for good."

"Remeber Napoleon," said Meia, "Caesar, Rasputin, Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, Pol Pot, Capone and the rest. They all had pride come before their fall."

"We ain't hungry for stink if it's what you're hinting at," said Barnette, "but you might be, and we're goin' to swat your butt."

"I'm cuckoo for Cuckoo Puffs," said Dita, "Cuckoo for Cuckoo Puffs."

"I regret," said Jura, "that I've got, but one life, to give for my parents, may they rest in peace."

"Ain't youse got any shame, eh Britt?" said Cara. "Youse gone bananas, youse know that?"

"Youse.....?" said the surprised Empress, turning to Cara down below, then declaring, "Only one female in particular uses a Brooklyn accent.....Cara Staam.....it's you!! To think I thought it was Jura that defected, much less was believed to be dead.  
That traitor Jura though she could hide that from me, but now her mistake is complete. Seems I got more than I bargined for when we met..........." Turning to Misty, Tsitra and Gie Bele, Pereira ordered, "Ready........"

At that, Misty, Steg and Taltli hoisted up their weapons, ready to take aim, the Vandread crew tensing at the worst, and Dita muttering, "They're goin' to pull the trigger....!!"

"......aim......," said Brittany.

Each of the officers took aim through the weapons' digital vidicon sights, locking on target, their figners tensing on the 7 inch triggers of their crossbows, their green gem muzzles aimed at the Vandread crew.

".............SHOOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" roared the PSE ruler.

The triggers were pulled and Misty, the Gerneral and the Major blasted away with their weapons, their phaserbolts soon engulfing Hibiki & co., till no one could see them, the Empress laughing in delight.............but when the shooting stopped, her expression changed to bewilderment as she said, "What the..........................?!?"

For it turned out that only reason the ladies had taken the potshots was to blast off the straps, thus setting the surprised Vandread crew free, B.C. saying, "They only blasted the straps off!!"

Misty, Tsitra and Gie Bele swung their crossbows at the Empress and her court, the blue haired gal saying, "It took precision marksmanship to blast those straps off, don't you think?"

"I've..................I've been triple crossed by a triple agent!!" blurted Brittany. "You're a traitor!! You're a traitor to my Empire, just like Jura and Cara were!!" Then to Steg and Taltli, she added, "And that goes for you as well!! You're traitors to your planet and my Empire!! How could you betray me?!?"

"A traitor to YOUR Empire?" said Gie Bele. "Don't make me laugh. We're now FORMERLY with your insignificant Empre, and we've got no further affiliation with you and your kind."

"We want no further ties to your horrid and unholy ambitions and your evil plots," added Tsitra. "You can't always bank on ambition and on the meaning of love. One thing's for sure: I hereby abdicate the Hohenzollern generalship and my affiliation with your so called 'Empire' for the man I love--Bartholomew Garsus of Taarak."

Hearing that, a surprised--and elated--Bart gave the General a silent cheer.

"I could kick myself for trusting you then," said Misty. "Back then, I had no choice, that I was only following orders. when I committed the mistake of not only acting as a spy, but also helping my friends, who you had me betray, just to get your Green Pyxis. I wish I had never hurt my real frends from the Nirvana--well, here's what I think of your greedy ambitions!!"

Taking aim at the overhead lighting, Misty set her phaser crossbow for blast mode, than shot out the lights, putting the arena chamber in the dark, with a lot of confusion among the other PSE staffers who shouted incherently, pasherblasts cirsscrossing the dark, and the evil Empress shouting, "STOP THEM!!!!"

"Run for it!!" called out Misty. "Follow me!!"

Even as alarm klaxons blared all over the Hohenzollern and Imperial Emerald Guard thugs were running all over the halls, blasting with their weapons, the Vandread crew, puzzled by the sudden turn of events, didn't need to be told twice as they ran out the arena and into the hallways before there was a flash and explosions inside, due in part by Pereira using her stun wave in an attempt to stop Hibiki and co., the wave only striking the doorway. From there, they followed Misty, Tsitra and Gie Bele, who were taking out shock troops with stun blasts, then leading the Vandread crew to a supply room where countless weapons and munitions were stored and handed each one a phaser crossbow, the Major saying to them, "Here. The red button is for main power, the orange button arms the weapon, button 1 is for blast mode and button 2 is for stun mode--the rest is hopefully self explanatory. Hurry, let's get to the hangar."

"What gives?" demanded Barnette. "The stinkin' traitor never was a traitor?"

"Not in the least," said misty. "I can't make you trust me, and I don't blame you for you feel, after what I did then, so lest's just say I wish to make amends. For now, let's hurry!!"

Armed with the crossbows, led by Misty, Tsitra and Gie Bele, Hibiki and co. charged through the hallways, stun blasting hordes of Emerald Guard warriors, blasting out lighting, camera eyes and support beam to slow down the enemy. Once, they were below a catwalk, and on it, was the Empress, trying another bid with her stun wave, her reducing magic and her elestrice bolts amongst other spells, in addition to her crossbow; aware their weapons were useless against her, Cara and Jura blasted the supports of a nearby beam, the heavy beam falling on top of a cursing PSE ruler who in turn, levitated it off her, thus giving the Vandread crew some time to flee.

"Just like old times?" said Cara.  
"Just like old times," said a grinning Jura.

Onward the group surged through the melee of PSE thugs, stunning them, blasting off obsticles, and just as they had did before in The Pyramid Of Titan, Dita and Misty were again taking their battle stance with their weapons, stunning the enemy, each giving each other a grin of renewed friendship, as would Meia, elated that her surrogate sister know as Misty Cornwell was back. Right now, they were in one of the giant hangars where the shuttle was, and it was there that Misty shot at an nearby panel, its circuits sparking.

"Tractor beam," the blue haired gal explained. "That way those PSE bastards can't lock it back on."

Running to another panel, Gie Bele hit several switches, saying, "Vacuum sheild on.....opening hangar door.........get going with the group, Misty,  
me and the General will follow in our Diamantes!!"

"Understood," said Misty before she and the Vandread crew board in the support ship, Gascogne getting started, and was flying towards the hangar port door, Steg and Taltli following in their fighter craft, but just then, Brittany arrived on the scene, shouting "STOP THEM!! STOP THEM!!"  
taking aim with their weapon and, along with the Emerald Guard, taking potshots at the fleeing ships, which were sheilded, which in turn had the PSE ruler try to use her magic to stop them, but sensing what was at hand, Tsitra used her aft phasers to again blast some drums of fuel nearby, along with yet another support bean to pin down Pereira, who used her sheild to avoid getting burned by the expolsions and flames from the fuel, as they spread to one section of the hangar, which now had the emergency techs scrambling to put out the fire.

"ADMIRAL!!" ordered the Empress, "SEAL THE PORT!!!!!!!!!!!!"

At that, Admiral Xaltocan Chimali ran to the panel and slammed the switch, the port sliding to close; in the shuttle, the group, huddled for worse saw what was happening, and Bart said fearfully, "The port's closing!!"

"I think I can make it....," said Gascogne.

And indeed the shuttle, flanked by the Diamantes, flew past the closing door, and, amid the barrage of phaser cannons, torpedoes and missiles, flew out from the Hohenzollern, and into space., and that was when Gascogne said, "Bart, it's time."

Rolling up his sleeve, Bart uncovered his wrist mounted remote for the Nirvana, adjusted some settings, and far in the distance, near Europa, the craft turned 'round and gunned for the target in mind. Inside, Ezra said, "We're moving on our own power!!"

"It's got to be Bart Garsus," said a confident Magno Vivian, "bless his heart."

Once the rendezvous was achived, the shuttle and the Diamantes flew to the Nirvana and freedom.

"Don't worry, Empress," said Admiral Chimali, who was up on the Hohenzollern bridge with the Empress and the Rear Admiral, "we'll get them. Their ships may be fast, but not as fast as out carrier......got a lock on the at course 1-8-0, range 1200, grid coordinates 250/354."

"All engines full ahead," said the PSE ruler, "and all weapons set for full percussion firepower."

Suddenly there was a BANG which shook up the carrier and set the alarm klaxon sounding.....and soon the Rear Admiral was in the vast engine room, calling out to Eednud Elidocorc, the ship's head engineer, "What happened?"

"It's our cryogenic plants!!" said a sweaty Elidocorc. "The reactors and the engines ain't getting cooled faster and the temperture's 115 Fahrenheit and rising!  
If we don't stop soon and shut down, we'll melt!!"

Turning to a comm, Real Admiral Eos said into it, "All stop!!"

"All stop!!" said Pereira to the helmswoman who compiled and replied, "All stop!!"

Outside, the white glow of the carrier's engines faded and went out, the Hohenzollern drifting to a stop.

In the engine room, the voice of Brittany came from the com as well as her face came from the tri screen, saying, "What happened?"

"The cryogenic plant went offline," said the head engineer. "So far, we had no core damage and no engine damage, so much, the better.  
We've got to stop so we can make repairs."

"^$&*#%......," muttered Pereira. "Do that, and hurry up. We were so close to our quarry......"

"Understood," said Elidocorc.

For Brittany Pereira, it was a no win day; it was bad enough that Misty had turned on her, it was even worse when it came to the defection of Tsitra Steg and Gie Bele Taltli as well as the escape of Gascogne & Co., but worse still was when the carrier's cryogenic plant, which cooled down the reactors and the engines broke down, just as she and her Empire were set to close in on the Vandread crew. As such, all the Empress could do here in the bridge was mutter, "Oy vey.........what a day......."

So all that time, Misty, Tsitra and Gie Bele's loyalty to the evil Empress was never for real at all, that they were waiting for a chance to make their move and break loose to redeem themselves and attain some political asylum, for which I don't blame them for.  
Good thing too, lest Hibiki's bunch would've been goners. So far, there's the matter of the Apocalypse Engine and where it's located; the only hope is that the Nirvana crew stop Ms. Pereira before she uses it With such a weapon, she might turn into the next Nostradamous, which is the last thing we want, dig?  
-a440.

Next: Chapter 18: Something Old, Something New. 


	19. Something Old, Something New

A marriage made in.............who knows where?  
I forgot there's a few other places. Anyhow,  
thanks for the public service announcement,  
now, back to our tale.  
--a440

CHAPTER 18: SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW.

Hours passed until the Hohenzollern's head engineer, Elidocorc Eednud came before the Empress Brittany in the control bridge, unwrapping in a cloth, a small steel box with some thick cables, their wirings shredded.

"I found out what happened to the cryogenic plants," said the head engineer. "The voltage regulator circuit was torn out.  
whoever did that.......must've had some knowledge in knowing that taking out that regulator would result in an overload that could knock out the cryogenic plants, given time."

"How soon can you fix that?" said the PSE ruler.

"It's been dealt with already," said Eednud. "We got a replacement unit online, before we found our stolen unit here in one of the storage lockers."

"Empress," said Admiral Chimali nearby, "we've got a saboteur onboard."

"Couldn't be the General, nor the Major, nor any of the officers nor the Vandread crew.......," mused Pereira. "They would've had all the time to do that and besides it couldn't been Misty.....she, Steg and Taltli were with me the whole time........."

"Could it had been someone that stowed away during the times we landed?"  
said Chimali.

"THAT, I wouldn't doubt," said the Empress. "Admiral, order the Emerald Guard to search the Hohenzollern as well as the rest of our main fleet, but first, post a heavy guard at all the crucial spaces; if he or she can get to our cryogenic plants, he or she might sabotage something that could be tough to replace."

"Understood," said Xaltocan Chimali.

Captain Vivian looked up when the Vandread crew, with Tsitra, Gie Bele and Misty entered and said, "Took you long to get back."

"Sorry we failed," said Gascogne. "That Empress had an answer for everything which is how we were outfoxed. Even now, she'a got The Green Pyxis. Yet, if it hand't been for Misty and the former General and Major here, we never would've made it back."

"I guess fate happens," said the boss. "We underestimated our enemy so we've got to try harder, which is to stop them before they use that Apocalypse Engine."

"And I know where it is," said Misty, "on the ice nation of LaPlaca, on Ganymede, which is where their capital is."

"Ganymede.....," said Jura, "where it all started for me and Cara."

"Sorry I wasn't any better in trying to reclaim the Green Pyxis," added Misty. "The Empress had it under lock and key and the vault for it was well guarded. I had her thinking I had done well in playing the spy for her benefit, but I could kick myself for betraying you and all the good friends here on the Nirvana, and I doubt if you may forgive me."

"I forgave you, ever since you confessed to before you stole The Key Gem," assured the captain.

"Wait," said a shocked Meia, "you knew Misty was a spy?!?"

"You've got to be joking, right?" said Gascogne.

"And you never told me and the others?!?" said a hurt Hibiki.

"Misty was PLAYING the role of a stinkin' traitor?" said Barnette.

"She was," said Magno, grinning. "Sorry I couldn't tell you, for security reasons, but suffice to say,  
the day before Hibiki's birthday, Misty here came to me and confessed that she was the spy, and revealed to me the whole scheme to claim The Green Pyxis, so we came up with the idea to trick the Empress into claiming The Green Pyxis, and that when the time was right, to take out that evil Engine; I was the only one that knew Misty's loyalty to the Empress was never for real."

"Neither were mine and Gie Bele's," said Tsitra. "Strange as to how the power of love can be."

"That," said Gie Bele, "and the fact that we were a two woman underground operation fighting the Empress and her Empire; she once gave me and Tsitra the runaround during a mission to take out a syndicate gangster from Balderon named Jiggy Jiggy Juddin. Now as to how to take out that Apocalypse Engine......"

"But how?" said Dita. "It'd be major suicide to take out the weapon with just our Vandreads."

"Not if we arrange a task force to infiltrate the installation," said the boss. "then locate some weakpoint in its works...............and destroy the weapon."

"And we know the way," said Misty. "You got that diagram for the weapon?"

Not waiting for anything, B.C. placed the disc that Hibiki had recorded the plans for the enemy weapon so long ago on Taarak into a drive; a screen displayed the blueprints for the pyramid shped weapon and the city base for it, known as Rubicon City.

"There's two innermost sectors within," said Gie Bele, "One's for Rubicon City itself, along with a small garrison on the rim of the outer perimiter of the weapon's installation, the other, the Engine itself. There's an outside vent on the outer wall that connects with the intake tunnel for the cryogenic plant for cooling the weapon; it should lead to the central control section for the weapon as well as the twelve cryo plants crucial in cooling the weapon down."

"So the cryogenic plants," said B.C., "should be our targets."

"To take them out," said Tsitra, "just do what it takes to sabotage the buffer circuits, each located in the uppermost tower sections surrounding the inner section of the pyramid, using bombs, weapons, anything;  
without them, the Engine will overheat and explode."

"Such a job like that," said Cara, "no doubt calls for explosvies, like bombs, right?"

"They're your best chance," said Misty, beaming with confidence.

"Let's hope the Empress Vanna is taking notes," said a smirking Jura.

"I hope so too," said Bart. "the last trump card........Lord help all if we fail.........."

"How can we?" said an indignant Gascogne. "We can't get stuff done, unless we all smile, smile, smile!!"

"Easier said than done," said Hibiki.

Prior to his long stretch at the helm for Ganymede, Bart was on a park bench in the park section when an ecstatic Tsitra ran up, cheeringly saying, "Guees what? Your captain granted me and Gie Bele political asylum on the Nirvana!! How long was it since the last time I was a free woman?"

"Beats working for that egotistical Empress, eh?" said the bald bishounen. "Anyway, it's great news!! You two were a big help to Misty that day."

"It was, for the most part, Misty's plan but me and Gie Bele had a hand in ideas," said the General. A sigh, and then she added, "We've got a long hard road to tread, and it's more than our courtship at hand......it's the long hard fight against the Empress and her Empire.......she'll no doubt use every trick in her book to stop everyone in her tracks, and worse still will be her Emerald Guard, and even worse is her Apocalypse Engine. But........we've got friends that care for each other a lot and I've got you, which we can triumph together.......of all the expressions the Empress Brittany forbade any of our staff to do, was to have feelings of love--how FANTASTIC is it to feel them again!!"

"I don't blame you," agreed Bart. "I had dreamed......of meeting and marrying someone willing to be the love of my life.........how was I to know she was once with The Pereira Star Empire?"

"Formerly with the Empire," reminded the General. "Strange how that worked out, that fateful day we met in the hallway of The Firebird."

"They say love is strange," admitted the blushing bishounen.

"So it would seem," said Tsitra. "I'd like you to, for now, kiss me. I've been thinking of you since that meeting, and waiting for you to kiss since then."

Without even doubting anything at all, Bart stood, and held the General by her waist, her arms round the helmsman's waist as they deep french kissed, Steg murmuring, "I love you......"

"Me too.....," replied the bald bishounen.

Back in her trademark blue dress, Misty was pondering her fate in the Nirvana canteen, thanful that the rest of the Vandread crew wouldn't press charges against her, the old "forgive and forget" axiom. A fat lot of good it would do, now that the evil Pereira got what she came for, which was The Green Pyxis. and despite what Magno had said, her words of confidence and forgiving and understanding only darkened her somber mood. Would it mean a war crimes commission trial? Jail time for treason? Something worse? The blue haired gal shuddered at what her fate would be.

Unsure as to what stood ahead, her horizons hopelessly narrow, Misty was jolted out from her reverie when she heard Meia say, "Room for one more?"

Looking up, the blue haired newbie could see the blue haired head of the Vandread crew, with a huge bouquet of roses she now handed to Misty, saying, "Can we be friends again? Here's a peace offering."

"For me?" stammered Misty, her eyes welling up with tears. "What did I do to deserve that?"

"For saving our butts in that firing squad, my sister," said the head Dread pilot. "You may be pleased to know that we've reinstated you back in the Vandread squadron. Anyone willing to put her life on the line and make up for the mistakes you made was a brave move, as long as you realized your mistake."

Unsure as to what to do, much less say, the blue haired newbie wept, "I couldn't done that without the help of the General and the Major.......Thanks for believing in me, even when I was a spy.........sister!!"

Crying sadly as she did before, Misty flung her arms round Meia and bawled in her tears away, the head Dread pilot holding her and saying, "Just cry it out, Misty............the hurt is long gone now........."

For some reason, Hibiki Tokai was now standing in a vast cityscape of neon festooned stucco buildings at the base of a mountain at night, taking in the colorful enviroment when floating down from the sky was Jura, who said, "How you feeling?"

"Strange thing to ask, don't you think?" said the hothead.

"Then why don't YOU check your head?" said the blonde, a bit edgy, before walking over to a stack of fuel drums,  
lokking back over her shoulder, then walking back to Hibiki adding, "And let me fight Ms. Pereira."

"Sorry," said the Van pilot. "but where're we at?"

"One of Jupiter's moons, Ganymede, where I was born," said the Dread diva, "and we're in the neon city of Dredge."

"It's a beautiful place," said the bewildered hothead.

"It is," said Jura, who turned back to Hibiki with a worried look on her face, adding, "It's only a matter of time before the Empress Brittany uses The Apocalypse Engine to rule the galaxy.......and before we set out.....I wish to ask you one thing.........no lie.......Hibiki Tokai, will you marry me?"

"Marry you?" said the stunned and floored Hibiki. "You're joking."

"No......," said a somber and quite serious looking Jura. "It's no joke. I TRULY want to marry you, to settle with you, and be man and wife, our past behind for sure."

"Marriage can be a tricky thing," said Hibiki. "I mean, timing is everything, but if you think you're determined to prove to me how much you love me....how serious do you want to be in marrying me?"

"As serious as my soul allows it to be," said the Dread diva. "I wouldn't want it any other way--and NOT for fame, nor a baby maker."

After a long pause, the hothead said, "If you're that determined............OK, I'll marry you."

"OH THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!" chirped Jura, who held and kissed the Van pilot, then said, "I'll be going for now to finish some last minute details.........so I'll try to hurry back......you will always be the best beau I've got.........."

With that, Jura turned and ran off into the crowd.....fading and vanishing, and seeing that, Hibiki called out, "Jura?!? Jura, come back!  
WAIT!!" The Van pilot tried to run after her, but it felt like he was running in slomo, his legs like lead......and suddnely, the PSE ruler, in a flash, appered out of nowhere in front of the hothead, laughing in a remorseless gloating way and said, "So, the diva traitor is trying to stop me? She'd best beware of the old adage, 'What goes around comes around.'" And then she flashed out from sight.  
before everything turned white.

Bolting up from the bed, a sweaty Hibiki gasped for breath, shaking from that latest nightmare, Jura near to him saying, "The Empress again?"

"She said you'd best beware of the old adage, 'What goes around comes around,'" gasped the hothead. "It was in a city of neon."

"You dreamt you were in the city of Dredge?" said the surprised blonde.

"Sure," said the Van pilot, "accordng to you; you were in the dream, and you asked me to marry you and then you turned and ran, and vanished....."

"I did that?" said the Dread diva. "And you said I proposed marriage to you?"

"You did, that you did," replied Hibiki.

"You've got the strangest dreams--and the spookiest," said Jura. "S-O-----------you dreamt I proposed to you, right? Well, if I proposed to you right now for real, would you jump at the chance?"

"Knowing I am still sane after waking up from that dream," said the hothead, "I guess I can give it a stab. COULD you truly be a good wife for me?

"Why not?" said the blonde. "it would be better chasing you all over the Nirvana, wanting you for a babymaker and stuff. If Bart can marry Tsitra Steg, like they plan to do, so can we."

"They're getting married?!?" said the surprised Van pilot, almost jumping off the bed.

"Day after tomorrow," said the Dread diva. "The Bartmeister popped the question to the former PSE General."

"Well," said Hibiki., "what a change that is--from reluctantly serving that potty mouthed Brittany Pereira to becoming the future wife for good ol' Bart."

"I saved her long ago," mused Jura, "and now with the help of Misty and her childhood friend, she saved me.....and while we're on the subject of marriage.........." Here, she reached into a drawer in one of the nightstands, and produced a small black velvet box and gave it to Hibiki.

"Open it," the blonde said, "and place the ring on my finger."

Taken back by the surprise, yet knowing what was happening, that the dream was coming true, in a way, the hothead, opened the box;  
inside was the most ornate diamond engagement ring comprised of one big diamond the size of a thumbnail with five smaller diamonds surrounding it in a pentagon pattern, which the Van pilot placed on the Dread diva's ring finger.

"Hibiki Tokai," said Jura, "will you marry me?"

"Now just a minute," said Hibiki, a bit terse, "I always--I always thought it was the guy--me, that is--the popped the question, not you, at least it's what Misty told me. Women don't propose, but since what's done is done, what the hey? Sure, I'll marry you, anything to make you happy. Jura Basil Elden, will you marry me?"

"OH THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!" squealed the blonde, throwing her arms 'round the Van pilot, just like she had many times over and kissed passionately. "Yes, I'll marry you!! You've made me the happiest woman on the Nirvana!!!!!!"

"Deja vu," said the now worn out hothead. "And to think all I did was stow on the Ikazutchi, just to steal a Van to prove to the guys on Taarak I was no bum. But then if I marry you, I don't have to worry over two things--worrying bout you using me for a babymaker for your gains, and Dita chasing me all over the place--I mean, 'Do you, Dita Liebely, take Mister Alien to be your lawful wedded husband?'"

Bursting out laughing, the Dread diva said between giggles, "I know what you mean.....!!"

On that note, the two resumed their kissy kissy huggy huggy night session, considering there were rumors started by (who else?) Paiway,  
that Hibiki and Jura went way beyond their kisses and hugs...........

Little did the Nirvana crew know was that a single man, dressed in black, the same attire worn by Jiggy Jiggy Juddin, with a face like that of Viktor Tupelov from The Hunt For Red October, carrying a long phaser rifle, sneaking out from the cargo compartment of the shuttle, and ran behind the containers, fuel drums and supply crates, then hid out in a storage bay behind the stacks of containers--and Austin Califrax was his name. A loyal assassin of The Electric Boogaloos, he had, on Jiggy's orders, stowed onboard the Hohenzollern when the PSE carrier had landed on Balderon; when he and the other Boogaloos had gotten wind that the Nirvana and the Hohenzollern crews were there, Austin was selected for the job, stowing on Tsitra's Diamante fighter ship, then onto the PSE carrier once the General and the Major came back. From there, he waited, using a homing device so that his fellow Boogaloos could track the flagship carrier.  
Once he had gotten word that Steg and Taltli had jumped ship to the Nirvana, Austin first sneaked into the engineering section, then tore out the regulator circuit for the cryogenic plant, before stowing in the Nirvana shuttle. Now, with his bag of tricks, he waited-  
ready to achieve his crowning glory to wipe out the Boogaloos' enemies.

Deep in the Nirvana's engine room, Parfet had been doing some last minute checks prior to the wedding as well as the flight to Gnaymede, when she came across on a catwalk, laying there with a Dom Perigon in one hand and guzzling from it, a drunken Dita,  
who was singing, Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen in a slurred way, and already, the engineer could guess why, that somehow,  
the UFO otaku must had gotten wind of either the upcoming Bart/Tsitra wedding, the blossoming Hibiki/Jura romance (and soon to be wedding), or for that matter, all of the above. For years, Dita had been lusting after Hibiki, who in turn, had loathed women since the day before the reunion long after the Harvest war, that is, until Jura gradually stole the hothead away from him; at first, he had resisted,  
but after hearing her story of her PSE past, she felt sorry for the diva, how much she had been deprived of love and caring since the murder of her parents, so she figured that if she couldn't have the Van pilot, at least he and Jura would be happy together. Yet, another part of her refused to come to grips with that fact and didn't want to give up Hibiki just yet, and that not one, but two weddings would only make Dita sad. In any case, Parfet waited till Dita finished her Dom, then picked her up and carried her back to her cabin, laying her on the bed, and washing out her bottle, with so much on her mind. At least HER marriage with Duero wasn't that chaotic.........

The day before the wedding, Magno Vivian, had got up from her bed, and was dressed for today, using her stick to walk, when she felt a twinge in her heart, and she gripped it.....no, she thought, not now........so far that sort of pain had been happening before, but now, it was getting frequent and worse.

"That shouldn't be happening," said the boss, "or should it? Time's runing short.......got to tell all, they all tell so should I..............."

Later that day, the captain took her place at the bridge and said to B.C., "Switch on all visual and audio systems, I wish to make an announcement."

"All systems online," said B.C.

Down in the Nirvana canteen, in fact, all over the ship, even The Cornerstone Empire's fleet, many screens came on with the image of the boss, getting eveyone's attention, from Dita who was curing her hangover with asprin and coffee in the canteen, to Hibiki, who was playing billiards with Jura, Tsita, Bart, Cara and Gie Bele, to Perfet in the engine room, to the Empress Vanna and her court in the bridge of the C.E.W.M. Synthesis.

"Everywhere, everyone," begand the captain, "here's a crucial announcement to make, particularly for the benefit of one Hibiki Tokai."

Hearing that, the hothead tensed, worrying if there was some kind of bad news at hand......

"I had originally planned to save it once we reached the earth and/or put the PSE away for good, and vice versa," said Vivian, "However.................given my recent heart problems--problems that not even Duero could deal with, I figured I'd best come clean with some truths, a confession, if you will, should anything happen to me."

Already, everyone was stunned, not only from the heart problems, but of something else, and so they wondered just what truths could be at hand............

"In case you forgot," said Magno, "almost everyone knows our illustrious Hibiki was--and still is--the scion of Taarak's Lord Granpa and Mejere's Lady Granma......however, it can now be told: Hibiki wasn't the only offspring of our founders--so was his sister."

All over, everyone literally dropped what they were doing, Dita with her coffee cup, Meia with a list of files, Hibiki with his pool cue, and so on. Had Hibiki had a sister? If so, was she alive or deceased? And who was she?

You see," added the captain, "Hibki and his sister, were born just before the conditions on the earth were poisoned, so they, along with their parents headed out into space and settled on the planets we used to know, and some time ago, it was then I first heard of The Pereira Star Empire, and at that time, I didn't consider them a threat at first, but when the war between the genders first broke out, I first met Gascogne along the line and we became fast friends......but then she said there was the possibility of the PSE coming back to declare the ultimate jihad--a holy war--over the universe, and that their Empress knew so much of Lord Granpa, Lady Granma, their people and those that first settled our planets, and that Ms. Pereira had reason to believe that Hibiki and his sister were a threat to her plans. Until the time was right, we, along with Lord Granpa and Lady Granma agreed that we should hide their offspring, so Lord Granpa took Hibiki to live with his granpa on Taarak, while Lady Granma took his sister to be adopted by the Liebely family on Mejere.......and the rest is history. And Hibiki, in case you're listening, and that applies to Dita as well, you can guess that........yes, Virginia, UH!! I mean Hibiki, Dita.........is your sister, believe it or not. And if you two secret siblings, seperated at birth until now still don't believe me, ask Gascogne--she'll tell you it's the truth. That is all."

No sooner did all the screens flash out, the quiet all over the fleet was defening, many people floored at such a revelation.

"I had a feeling the ties ran deep twixt those two," said Vanna.

"Imagine that," said Mallory.

"Fascinating," said Jessica.

"I hope the Empress Brittany doesn't get wind of it," said Xaan.

"Got my hair standing on end," said Rael.

"What a shock!!" said B.C.

"Someone pinch me, I must be dreaming," said Ezra.

"Is it Vandread or All My Children?" said Rebecca.

"What a crazy family," said Amarone.

"Who knew?" said Belvedere.

"I always though they acted like two spoiled siblings," said Celtic.

"Man............that sure floored me," said Bart.

"All that time? Dita, his sister? Poor Hibiki," said Meia.

"Momma, hold my hand!!" said Barnette.

"What a fascinating story," said Tsitra.

"Fascinating, indeed, for that matter, I never knew........," said Gie Bele.

"Oh no!! Say it ain't so!!" said Jura.

"Hibiki and Dita, brother and sister? Poor Dita, ribbit," said Paiway.

"O-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-oh, b-b-b-b-b-b-boy!!" said Parfet.

"At least some questions were answered that day," said Duero.

"I knew the boss would reveal the truth sooner or later," said Gascogne.

"Y-you mean Hibiki.......wasn't an alien at all?!?" said Dita. "He was my brother all that time?!? I had a brother and he was Hibiki?!? Then if I had..........that would've been incest!!" On that, the UFO otaku fainted.

"I didn't know I had a sister.....until now," said Hibiki, who had just ran into the bridge and was behind the boss, stunned like a zombie.. "You should've told me then.......I didn't think I had a sister at all............"

"So now you know," said Vivian. "But whatever you do, bury those throughts while you can; if the Empress Brittany learns of that fact, she could use it to her advantage......."

For Hibiki Tokai, the fact that Dita was his sister meant, all the teasing, pestering and chasing could stop, and gone were the days of "Mister Alien stuff." Also gone were the tensions and paranoia which meant the hothead could finally ease up on, without the fear. It also meant he could marry Jura without a guilty consience, and without driving Dita--his sister--to jealousy.

For Dita Liebely--er, Tokai, it was a good thing she learned the truth, otherwise, it would've been incest for sure, had she had her way with Hibiki. At least having the Van pilot as a brother, eased any suspicious jealousy doubts and she could see that he and Jura were meant for each other,  
and hoped it would last. At least, she would be one of the bridesmaids for the two weddings on the boards at hand.................

In fact, the Nirvana and the Synthesis were in Ganymede orbit range the day of the wedding.  
Vanna and her Cornerstone Empire, for their part, went all out in helping the Nirvana crew prepare for the wedding, even broadcasting the event, which along with the reception, would be held in the Nirvana's bridge. Right now, it had been decided the Hibiki would be Bart's best man, with Duero, Rael Tobias and Cid Dorn from the War Machine Synthesis as the ushers, while Gie Bele would be Tsitra's maid of honor, with Jura, Cara, Dita, Meia, Barnette amd Misty as the bridesmiads; other people to be present for the gala event would be Gascogne, B.C., Paiway as the flower girl, Parfet, Ezra, Rebecca, Celtic, Belvedere, Amarone, etc. Oh, and Vanna, Jessica and Xaan.

Right on the dot, the wedding began with the bridesmaids, (in addition to a tuxedoed Hibki,  
who were in red southern bell like satin dresses, piloting Vanguards and were floating in space, two cololums of Vans flanking the path between the Synthesis and the Nirvana; after a four minute interval, Meia said, "Here they come, get ready with those swords, and make it good!!"

"ROGER!!" chorused the others, as they used their Van appendages to lift up their swords to form a cross like arch, as Tsitra, with Bart at her side, piloted her Diamante through and under the swords, followed by a squadron of Mantas of The Cornerstone Empire. Then after they had passed the Vans followed them to the Nirvana, where the wedding would start.

And from the start, the wedding went without a hitch in the control bridge, Gascogne playing the processional wedding march on her electric piano as the wedding troupe arrived, before they stood before Capt. Vivian, who would preform the ceremony, which she did well, much of the bridesmaids and the female staff, including Vanna, Xaan and Jessica, who were in official uniform in effect, crying gently--all but Meia, who tried to maintain a stoic composure (no easy task,  
occasionally stealing glances at Hibiki and wondering, "What am I doing? What's with me?" then giving her fellow females her loudest rebuke, "No tears, or else!! It's a happy occasion, got it?" But then, she also fell victim to a crying jag for the first time in her life, bawling her head off, till Bart and Tsitra were husband and wife, Gascogne playing the recessional version of the wedding march.

Afterward, the reception was held, with nearly everyone in a carefree mood. And with a lot of wedding cake, chili, hot dogs and champagne, no one was complaining, especially a white tuxedoed Bart, who said to , who was resplendant in a Mejere captain's naval uniform, "Thanks for making my dreams come true."

"At least I was there to help," said the boss. "A promise is a promise, right? Well.......oh, that stupid heart of mine."

"Shouldn't you see a doctor?" said Tsitra, who was festooned in a white satin wedding dress of seed pearls, ribbons, an off the shoulder top and an ornate tiara which accented her veil and her red hair.

"My age is already in the 100s," said Vivian. "I doubt if even the finest doctors can save me now.. At least I was able to do my first marriage cermony on the Nirvana; it pays when you're a ship's captain, don't you think?"

"That, it does," agreed Gie Bele, before saying to her childhood chum, "Tsitra, it's time."

"Agreed," said the General, who lifted up a notch, a section of her wide skirt and took off her garter, then tossed it to the guys in the group and--you guessed it--Hibiki got it. In fact, it got even wilder when Tsitra tossed her bouquet, and, as anyone can guess, of the ladies who did a dash to see who could grab it, Jura was the lucky one.

"You two would be the lucky ones," said Dita, who grinned.

"Lucky?" said Hibiki. "Bart's the one that should be lucky--I mean, Tsitra was once General Tsitra Steg of The Pereira Star Empire, now she's Tsitra Garsus of the Nirvana crew."

"I don't know," said Barnette. "A part of me still says she, Misty and Gie Bele might change their minds."

"Thay ain't likely to change their minds," said the hothead.

"Wanna bet?" shot back the gunner.

"Calm yourselves, huh?" said Vanna, as she approached the group. "Like Meia said, it's a happy occsaion-  
something we've needed in these mundane depressing times. By the way, Hibiki, congrats on your upcoming marriage to Jura; if you ever need our help in planning your wedding, do let me know."

"We'll be in touch," said Jura, "but I was thinking of having it in my hometown of Dredge, on Ganymede."

"Consider it done," said The Cornerstone Empire ruler, grinning and adding, "I hope you and Jura will be happy together, even along after we defeat The Pereira Star Empire, ending their evil ways for good--and when the Earth is saved."

"Thanks a heap," said the blushing Van pilot. "I just hope my blushing doesn't stunt my growth."

Turning to Dita, Vanna stated, "Dita, now that you've found your real self, if not the truth behind you and Hibiki, it means a lot of changes from now on, and with it, a lot of heavy responsibilites for you two."

Taking Hibki's arm, Dita said, "Oh it ain't heavy............he's my brother," and kissed the hothead's cheek in a now sisterly way.

"I wish you wouldn't make me blush, it'll turn me into a midget!!" said the Van pilot--just as there was a few beeps on Amarone's tracking system, followed by a long pointy projectile with Balderonian and english markings on the side, streaking past the Nirvana's main window.

"A torpedo!!" exclaimed Amarone. "The PSE's found our ship and shooting!!"

"No," said Tsitra, in a matter of fact way. "The heat from the vapor trail is different, and it looks different. That torpedo's Balderonian."

"No doubt from The Electric Boogaloos," said Gie Bele darkly, "because it's longer than the standard Cornerstone Empire's torpedoes."

"Electric Boogaloos?" said Barnette. "Sounds like a rap group."

"It's one of the worst crime syndicates on Balderon," said the General. "They've been in racketeering,  
extotion, murder, sex slave trading, the works.. Their leader's name is Jiggy Jiggy Juddin, and that guy's a bona fide devil even worse than Rabat."

"Compared to The Electric Boogaloos," said the Major, "even the PSE was considered a group of sweeties.  
You see, they were once in Conerstone years ago, running a place of ill repute, and me and the General were on a mission to infiltrate their base, but the whole thing got botched up, and the owner nearly fed us to a cruel human eating manticore like creature in the sewers, but we bested it; when we fled from there, the place was empty, but there was no doubt Jiggy and his group had a vendetta on the Empire ever since."

"Great flyin' dog do," grumbled Hibiki, "another enemy to deal with."

"A torpedo?" said Govenor Mallory Traedi, inside the Synthesis bridge to Weg Balderon, the tracking officer. "Where'd it come from?"

"Not that far," said Weg, who was checking her screens, then said, "Thermo tracking contact, range 6000,  
bearing 3-2-7, distant heat bloom transients, reactor seems to be a hybrid SFS Paranza 2010."

"Only the Electric Boogaloos' Vouivre uses that sort of plant," said Mallory. "Is the ship a capital ship?  
With Hale-Warp engines?"

"Capital ship, tao," replied the officer, "Hale-Warp engines."

"The Vouivre," said the Govenor. "Get me the Nirvana, stat!! Battle stations!!"

Turning to Paiway, Capt. Vivian said, "Parfet, get to engineering and get me power, and Bart, get to your helm post and get the ship to course 3-1-5, fast!! Battle stations!!"

"Battle stations!!" said B.C., even as Parfet ran for the engine room, while Bart jumped into the warp platform leading to his helm bubble; a second after that, his screen came, the pilot saying, "All set,  
now turning on 3-1-5."

"Status on that torpedo," said Magno.

"Now on course 1-5-1," said Belvedere, "coming in fast at 14 GR."

"Incoming message from the Synthesis," said Ezra.

A second screen came with Mallory's image saying, "We've got another ship, hidden in its stealth fold,  
bearing down on you, course 3-2-7, range 6000 and turning, capital ship, no doubt it's the Vouivre."

"Tracking with thermo systems," said Belvedere, " we're indeed picking up something hidden in an invisibility fold, coming on fast at 40 GR, plant heat blooms of a type unknown in our books."

"It's definitely the Vouivre," said Vanna. "Mom, ready all firing solutions and Mantas, should the time come."

"Already on it," said the Govenor.

The Nirvana picked up the pace in matters of speed, turning away and heading out to another part of space, the Boogaloos' Gehena class torpedo chasing on the heat trail of the ship's engine, the torpedo's red electric eye, moving all around in its socket as it seeked out the Nirvana.

"How soon can you plot a firing solution?" said B.C. to Bart.

"It'll take time," said Bart.

Celtic, who was tracking the torpedo said, "Torpedo impact, 15 minutes and counting."

Suddenly Vanna, who was in thought, spoke, her eyes widening, "My CTI senses detect someone in the Nirvana halls........an assassin with a weapon...........Tsitra, Gie Bele, take cover!!"

At the same moment, B.C. did see someone from the corner of his eye--Austin of The Electric Boogaloos, the stowaway saboteur, peer from the corner of the bridge entrance, and aim his rifle at the General and the Major--

--and that was when B.C. jumped in, pushing them aside to safety, only to be hit all over his torso, from the phaserbolts in the process, crumbling to the floor, as Austin ran out. Already, Barnette, Hibiki, Dita, Jura and Cara were barricaded behind a control desk, their stolen crossbow weapons aimed at the door.

"Who's the dummy that said they ain't likely to change their minds?" grumbled Barentte.

"It's got to be a stowaway," said Dita.

"Whoever he is," said Cara, "he must've been hired by either Pereira, Jiggy or both."

"Gunshots?" said Weg.

"Definitely," said Mallory.

With much of the female crew weeping, B.C. lay slumped against one of the control desks,  
blood pouring out from the phaserbolt wounds as he said, "I've been shot.....dying!! I don't think you can save me now," to Duero.

"I wouldn't doubt it," said the medic.. "Those shots look extremely bad; whoever it was that shot you was a devil of a marksman."

"Torpedo impact, 12 minutes and counting," said Celtic.

Truning to Meia, Vivian said crisply, "Pass the word to the Nirvana guard, that they're to stop a dark haired fellow with a long rifle and black outfit, stun him down and jail him!! NOW!!"

"Roger!!" said the head Dread pilot, who turned to pass the order through.

"Got a firing solution yet?" said Gascogne to Bart.

"All the weapon circuts were blasted to hell," said the bald bishounen, "from that gun toting bastard."

"Great," said the black strapless evening gown clad supply officer. "It'll take time to fix every one of those circuts., which means we've got to get behind that torpedo and stay there."

"Torpedo impact," said Celtic, "7 minutes and counting."

"No time....," said Tsitra, "and no option. Bart, bring the Nirvana to 1-5-1, full speed."

"WHAT~~~~~!!" said Meia. "That would be turning into the path of that torpedo!! Don't do it,  
Bart!!"

"1-5-1," said the boss. "I got a feeling the General may be right."

"And sign our death warrants?!?" said Hibiki. "You're all nuts!!"

"Torpedo impact, 4 minutes and counting," said Celtic.

"1-5-1," said the Major.

"It's your funeral," said Bart as he turned the ship.

"What?" said Govenor Traedi.

"The Nirvana's turning into the path of that torpedo," said Weg. Balderon.

"And with my daughter onboard it," moaned Mallory. "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on their souls........."

"Torpedo impact," reported Celtic, "1 minute and counting!!"

"Bart....., Hibiki.....," breathed B.C., "it was fun, you guys.........Captain.......we had some rocking times back then......forgive me for taking the job of answering the call to be a spy on you ship, to the point of willing to be surgically altered to be a female from the start. May God and his son forgive me for all my sins and for the times I didn't repent.........may you reach the earth one day............"

"Sorry I mistook you for a real woman and tried to make a pass at you,' said a glum Bart.

"No worries," said the now dying Taarak officer. "Guess I must've been descended from Job the day I was born....."

"Torpedo impact," said Celtic, "T minus 12 seconds, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, zero, IMPACT!!"

The hurtling torpedo was converging on the front of the Nirvana.....then, just as it was 21 feet distance from the ship--it broke up in pieces before it exploded harmlessly in space.

"What happened?' said Misty.

"Simple by the book combat tactics," replied Magno. "As a rule, all torpedoes must be equipped with a safety range interlock system, so the if the safety range is exceeded before the torpedo can arm itself, it detonates itself, so by getting some distance covered, the Nirvana used the safety range to its advantage before the torpedo could arm itself."

"Then the worst is over?" said Hibiki.

"Not quite," said Gie Bele. "Knowing Jiggy, he'd reset the safety ranges on all his weapons to zero."

"When that happens," added Tsitra, "they'll be fully active once they're launched."

"One thing's for sure," said B.C., his voice fading, "we'll make it through somehow........bless me,  
Father, for I have sinned, and I pray in Jesus' name to repent for all my sins so that I can be forgiven.  
be merciful to me, a sinner....for Jesus' sake, amen.........." That said, B.C.'s head limped down, proof that he died.........

Inside the Vouivre, a livid Jiggy demanded, "What happened? Why didn't the torpedo hit?"

"The Nirvana," said Harlow, "covered the distance before the torpedo could arm itself."

"It's my fault," said Pee Cee Bee, "I had the safety ranges set too soon."

"USAGLAV TI!!!!" ("CONFOUND IT!!!!") roared Jiggy. "Reload all tubes and set all safety ranges to zero."

"But that means doing so will render our torpedoes already armed in the tubes," said Pee Cee Bee,  
who was shuddering.

"Don't argue with me, Pee Cee Bee!!" snarled Jiggy. "Do it!!"

Back on the Nirvana, much of the female staff were crying over B.C.'s death; what started as a gala celebration turned into tragedy, and right now, Magno Vivian said, "B.C., you were my comrade next to Gascogne......my war buddy........me and you were the same..........OH!! My heart!!"

How right she was; the boss suddenly grimaced, clutching at her heart, Duero running to her side,  
Vivian gasping, "No, I don't think you can save me now.......Gascogne.............you take charge as the new captain of the Nirvana, with General Steg as your new first mate....it's up to you to pick up where I left off.....you were the understudy for years--your time's come to be the star at last."

"What a unique metaphor," said the supply officer, having been surprised at such a promotion, given the circumstances at hand. "I'll do whatever it takes to take it from here to save the earth, since it's what you wanted."

"Meia," said the captain, "lead the Vandread team to victory and stop the PSE's tyranny in its tracks, as you have led your team for years."

"I'll do what you ask," said a teary eyed Meia.

"Bart," said the boss, "you and Tsitra work hard and the best of luck for you and your marriage."

"Will do," said Bart.

"Understood," said the General.

"Jura," added Magno, "you and Dita look after Hibiki for me and that may the upcoming marriage work out."

"You got it," said Jura and Dita in unison.

"HIbiki," said Vivian, "it's time for me to retire in peace, in effect.......so lead the others in you Vanguard as you've done before. for your parents Lord Granpa and Lady Granma would've wanted it that way. And tell your granpa, I died a brave heroine, if you get a chance. You're on your own now, so look after your sister and you bride to be Jura, for the future of Taarak and Mejere."

"But.....," stammered Hibiki, as he held the captain's hand, a tear down his face, "we've got more to do, you can't just....!!"

"Forgive me Father," said the boss, "I have sinned.....I pray in Jesus' name to repent and be forgiven, for I desire to come home, so be merciful to a sinner like me......amen."

Her head slumping down told everyone that their long time founder and captain of the Mejere pirates, was now dead, which had the women crying hard; indeed, quite possibly, it was the first time Hibiki Tokai had cried before, strating with the first few tears on his face as he called out, "Captain?  
CATAIN?!!? DON'T GO!! COME BACK!! WE GOT MORE TO DO!!!! PLEASE DON'T GO!!!! WE'VE GOT MORE TO DO!!!! OH, JESUS, HAVE MERCY!!!!" then bawling like a lost child, devistated at Vivian's death,  
but crying in shame for showing that one emotion. Even so, that didn't stop an equally weeping Jura from kneeling beside the crying Van pilot, and throwing an arm 'round his shoulders, followed by Dita on the other side. First B.C. Caressa.....and now Magno Vivian......the whole day was one big tragedy.

"Captain Vivian and B.C. just died?" said Mallory right after her daughter delivered the news.

"Just now," said Vanna. "The former died in the places of General Steg and Major Taltli, the latter of heart failure. My CTI senses detect the assassin roaming in the Nirvana's air duct systems."

"Lord have mercy on their souls!!" said the Govenor. "You and your team help the Nirvana crew in anyway possible."

"Already on it," assured The Cornerstone Empire Empress.

"All tubes loaded," said Pee Cee Bee, "all safety ranges set to zero."

"Got them," growled Jiggy Jiggy. "Match bearings and launch all 12 torpedoes, salvo mode!!"

"But they're armed in the tubes already!!" protested Pee Cee. "It's dangerous to do so, you can't--"

"OUTA MY WAY THEN!!" snarled Jiggy, shoving his wife aside, and stabbing all twelve firing buttons, the Gehena class topedoes launching on a path for the Nirvana.

"Twelve torpedoes launched!!" said Celtic. "They're already active and now locked on our ship!!"

"Worse still," said Belvedere, "the Vouivre just came out from its stealth fold and is one heck of a starship!!"

"Rats!!" grumbled Cara. "Between the PSE and those Boogaloos, we've got one foot in a bucket of toxic waste and the other on a banana peel!!"

"My CTI senses the assassin," said Xaan, "in the ventilation systems, heading to the central part of the ship."

"No wonder our guard wasn't able to locate him," moaned Meia. "How worse can it get?"

A steady beep and a flashing red light got Ezra's attenion for her to blurt out, "Gascogne!  
Someone's gotten into the missile bay!! I got a silo hatch warning, right side, number fifteen!!"

"Least he can't launch a missile without the knowhow," said Misty.

"No," said Gascogne, "but he can blow one up if he hot wire taps a warhead's ignition circuits to incinerate the ship.. Come on, jokers, we've got to stop him before--BAAAAAAARRRROOOOM!!!!"  
Turning to Tsitra, she added, "General, take the conn."

"Understood," said Tsitra. Then as Gascogne and the Vandread crew ran out, the General turned to Bart and said, "All engines, full ahead, course 2-5-0!!"

"Turning on 2-5-0, unkel dunkel!!" said the bald bishounen.

Turning to Xaan, Jessica, Cid and Rael, Vanna said, "Don't just stand there, we've got to help them!! Set your EQ-7 phaser rifles for stun!!"

Deep in the Sherwood Forest like silo tubes--huge ones at that, stenciled in Japanese and english-  
Gascogne & Co., with Vanna and her team coming on behind were running down the cat walk, when Austin, on the far side of the right bank of tubes was shooting with his rifle, the bolts scattering the group everywhere.

"What a crazy nut!!" said Dita. "We'll never get to that crud now since most things in here don't react well to his shooting prowess."

"He's a Balderonian," said Cid, "and Balderonians have a fine rep for marksmanship; he was trained in The Boogaloos for such expertise."

"Maybe if one group distracts him while the other takes him by surprise?" said Jessica.

"Good thinking," said Gascogne. "Me, Hibiki, Meia, Misty, Barnette, Cara, Dita and Jura will distract him, the rest of you sneak behind."

"Just don't get yourself shot, OK?" said Rael."

"No worries," said Barnette. "We've been used to that sort of thing before."

"What do you mean 'used to'?" said Meia.

"Never mind," grumbled Hibiki, "let's just get on with it!!"

The two groups split, Gascogne & Co. hiding behind the silos to doge Austin's shots and shooting back with stun bolts, Vanna's crew on the other side, sneaking up on their quarry, ahead, a work light, like in a garage lit up and hanging on a door frame of silo with a missile in side, the assassin hotwiring its warhead, ready to touch two wirings to detonate the charge.

Seeing what was happening with the torpedoes situation, Mallory ordered, "Train all cannons on those torpedoes!! Take them out--and cripple the Vouivre as well!!"

Already the War Machine was blazing with its cannons, scarring the sides of the carrier, and knocking out six of the twelve torpedoes, but the enemy ships was launching its own fighters, a matter remedied when the Mantas took flight and crippled the enemy fighter planes, causing them to retreat back to their mother ship.

"Only six--no, four torpedoes remain," said Gie Bele.

"Then let's shake them off," said Tsitra, ordering, "Launch contermeasures and angle on 40 degree upward climb!!"

"Launching countermeasures, now!!" replied Rebecca.

"40 degree angle, up," said Bart, taking the Nirvana on a steep climb.. In deed, the plan worked; the cylrindrical canisters, identical to the ones used on the Hohenzollern, dropped from the Nirvana's underside, then exploded into a pair of gas clouds, the torpedoes heading into the clouds, with the ship evading them, and heading on a path for the aft section of the Vouivre.

In the silo room, Gascogne drew a targeting bead on Austin who chose an orthodox way of defense--he used his CTI mind flux on the supply officer turned captain and the Vandread tem, jamming their minds with a neuroscrambling wave, which was a cross between mental telepathy and mild hypnosis, the group feeling like they were drunk.

"I can't stand steady!!" said Dita.

"I can hardly walk," said Meia.

"My legs feel rubbery," said Barnette.

"Last time I felt like that," said Jura, "was at a wine tasting contest on Mejere."

"We've had it," said Cara. "We're outa his league!!"

"Never say 'die,'" said Gascogne, "and didn't I tell you to smile? You're forgetting your lines!!"

"Did you have to say 'die'?" said Misty.

"I feel like a rubber band....," said Hibiki.

Spurred on by their friends' plight, Vanna led her group, aware Gascogne's group couldn't distract Austin much longer,  
and blasted the assassin of The Electric Boogaloos with some well placed stun blasts; still a bit groggy but recovering,  
Gascogne sealed up the missile silo with the hot wired missile in it, and hit the emergency gas charge to jettison the said projectile out into deep space where it exploded harmlessly, the shock waves also pushing the four torpedoes out towards the Nirvana which was 4000 yards from the Vouivre's engines.

"The torpedoes relocked on our ship!!" said Ezra. "Collision with the enemy ahead, 1000 yards!!"

"Torpedo impact, two minutes and counting," said Celtic.

"General....," said Gie Bele, "we're running low on time....!!"

"Torpedo impact, one minute and counting," said Celtic.

"Collision with the Vouivre, 400 yards and counting," said Ezra.

"Tsitra!!" called the Major. "Think of something!!"

"And soon!!" said Bart.

At that, the General said, "Left full thruster, turn on 1-8-0, 50 degree angle, FAST!!" Then: "Lord, forgive me...."

As any genius will tell you, the Nirvana turned fast and out from the space twixt the torpedoes and the Vouivre,  
the said enemy projectiles locking onto the heat of the engines.

"Torpedoes!!" yelled Harlow, "Dead astern!!"

"Thanks for singing our death warrants," said Pee Cee Bee bitterly.

"You're welcome--usaglav ti," said Jiggy, before he yelled, "ABANDON SHIP!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The Boogaloos managed to escape in their fightercraft just in time before the torpedoes crashed through the engines and into the reactor, causing the Vouivre to explode everywhere in a huge wave of unleased reactor energy that soon faded to tiny sparkles.....and in his own ship, Jiggy muttered, "Whoever did that....must DIE!!"

So much for the Boogaloos--for now, anyhoo. OK, sports fans, here's the wrap up--Bart and Tsitra finally got hitched but the victory is a bittersweet one with B.C. and Magno dead. Can the Nirvana crew carry on without them? How will it affect the future?  
Where's the PSE? And where's the Boogaloos heading off to? And will Hibiki and Jura's wedding be a success? Guess that is asking a lot, eh? Oh well, we'll wait and see.  
--a440.

Next: Chapter 19: Boy Meets Girl........And Then They Marry. 


	20. Boy Meets GirlAnd Then They Marr

First off, my sympathies to the Nirvana crew for what happened to Magno and B.C.; the Mejere pirates won't be the same without them. If only the Boogaloos hadn't butted in.....guess it shows that even in space, there's a lot of kooks........anyhow, once we get some stuff settled, we can carry on with one of the events at hand in the story--wedding bells for two of our members in the Vandread crew.  
--a440.

CHAPTER 19: BOY MEETS GIRL........AND THEN THEY MARRY

After the Vouivre's destruction, The Electric Boogaloos fled in their fightercraft, only for The Cornerstone Empire's Mantas and the C.E.W.M. Synthesis to apprehend the syndiciate criminals, using the tractor beam system, then transport them to the detention cells on the Synthesis, along with Austin the assassin, who murdered B.C., only to be captured by Gascogne and the Nirvana guard, then placed in the ship's cells, prior to his handed over to the The Cornerstone Empire's Bollix retinue; all would be sentenced to life in prison with no parole, yet of all the Boogaloos, as fate would have it, only Jiggy Jiggy, Pee Cee Bee and Harlow Juddin managed to escape, yet Vanna and her Empire vowed to seek them out and track them, along with the PSE.

For now, after the Boogaloos' ship's demise, the reception resumed as normal, then Duero embalmed the bodies of B.C. and Magno, then had them placed in coffins, before they were set in the park for the funeral,  
Father Leonard, a chaplin for The Cornerstone Empire conducted the funeral, while the Nirvana crew (Hibiki in particular), along with Vanna &  
Co., were crying in great and sorrowful wails. Then Gascogne read one of Vivian's favorite poems, and a excerpt from B.C.'s biography he had written years ago. After that, the bodies were transported to one of the Hyper Dimensional Carriers of The Cornerstone Empire that had followed the Synthesis, so it could make a hyperspace jump back to Taarak and Mejere, where their bodies could be buried on their respective planets, with more funerals and memorial services.

On that day, it was the end of an era........and the start of a new one........

But even after the passage of mourning had finished, and Bart and Tsitra were having their honeymoon in their suite in the Nirvana, Hibiki had it worse than anyone other than Gascogne, both of whom would, for the moment, never get over losing B.C. and Magno. Right now, the Van pilot was slumped along one wall of his suite,  
staring at the late captain's walking stick, alongside a photo of her and his granpa.  
And right now, the hothead was more than feeling sorrow, he was feeling ashamed for crying, when he had maintained a reputation for hidng any tears, largely because he had been taught by his granpa, that it was immature for a male to cry. Since then,  
the hothead kept his emotions of sorrow, as he liked to call it, in check for years,  
until the deaths of the first mate and the boss.

Even as his MP3 player was playing Pink Floyd's Hey You, the Van pilot wondered if Gascogne could pick up where Vivian left off. It was one thing when it came to a cross to bear, but in Hibiki's case, he had so many crosses, he almost felt like buckling under. And deep down, he wished there had never been a war between the genders,  
nor the Harvest, nor the PSE, nor the Boogaloos nor even a diseased Earth. Already,  
the tune ended--and that was when the hotead heard a knock at the louvered door and said, "It's open."

The door opened and in stepped an equally dejected Gascogne, who, after closing the door, sat down next to the Van pilot, saying, "Take a good look at a rare look at a disillusioned Gascogne Rheingou, after so many years of exhorting my cast members to smile............oh!! I've exhorted my cast to maintain a happy face, even on myself.....and what happens? Two of my closest friends died. I haven't felt that way since my sister died........so maybe I was blind to the fact that even a stage director can get the blues,  
if not the raspberries...........but then, given the fact that Bart and Tsitra's wedding day was on Friday the 13th, it wouldn't be surprising...........I feel ashamed by showing my sad feelings."

"Welcome to the club," said Hibiki. "Who knows if any of those Boogaloos may be around?  
And whre would the PSE be now?"

"According to the Empress Vanna, she and her Empire, " said the new captain, "would search everywhere, even as far as Jupiter and its moons for them. Say, did I tell you Vanna's got some of her Imperial techs that will take care of and fix up the Nirvana while we all head to Ganymede for fuel, supplies, food and rest and recouperation--not to mention your upcoming marriage to Jura?"

"I wish you hadn't mentioned that to me," said the hothead, uneasily. "Just thinking of getting married got me so unerved, given the recent events so far."

"Ah, it's typical of soon to be married couples to get cold feet," said Gascogne. "You just got butterflies in your stomach."

"Mine feel more like bats to me--or worse still, PSE Diamante fightercraft," said the Van pilot. "But then, what of you? You must be strung out with getting heaped with the new lease of life as the Nirvana's new captain."

"How'd you guess?" said Gascogne. "I've been used to giving some orders before, and arranging the actors backstage, but....not like that......it's like I was chosen to be the new Kaleido Star. But then........times change. Guess we weren't used to change. Even the stage shows have been known to make so many changes. So if you don't remember your lines,  
it's a safe bet your show gets razzed by the critics. Same with weddings--you've got to know your script, otherwise the fiasco brings down the curtain on your matrimony matinee."

"You talkin' 'bout my wedding to Jura, right?" said the hothead.

"Good guess," said Gascogne. "Now if we could only ring down the curtain on Ms. Pereira's Apocalypse matinee....no matter; once you and the J-gal finish with your honeymoon, we'll get our Vandreads set for the north continent of LaPlaca--and Rubicon City.........you wanna get drunk?"

"Better still," said Hibiki, who pulled out two bottles of cough syrup, "wanna get high?"

"Y'know," said Gascogne, who took one of the bottles, "it's times like these I wish you had gone back to smoking. But I'll try almost anything."

And the new Nirvana captain and the Van pilot got high on the syrup, soon entering their unusual high, even staring at the TV for some Animals Close Up, With A Wide Angled Lens, the trademark Yakety Sax playing and the hothead and the supply officer turned new leader deleriously singing Oh!! My Pa-Pa, till the effects wore off--just in time before Barnette stuck her head in and said, "So here's where's you two were. Seems like you had a pseudo bachelor party here."

"What hit me?" said Gascogne groggily, as she got up. "But then again, what a trip. Well, let's pack our stuff.......next stop, Ganymede--and the neon city of Dredge." And from there, Gascogne exited the suite. After that, Barnette went to Hibiki and said, "On your feet, poop-a-doop, we've got work to do in getting you and Jura hitched."

Shaking out from his state, Hibiki said soberly, "Let's get started."

In the morning, the whole Nirvana crew took off as did the core Imperial court of the Synthessis,  
Vanna piloting her personal fighter ship, the SOD 1200, which was a gold six pointed ship, leading a caravan of Mantas, shuttles, cargo ships, Gascogne's ship, Hibiki's Vanguard, the Dreads and Tsitra and Gie Bele's Diamantes, all heading down to the surface of Ganymede; for Jura and Cara, it had been years since they had been on the moon of Jupiter before the PSE had abducted them, and now in a way it felt like coming home. Not much had changed when they had flew over one of the larger continents, and soon, in the dawn of morning, Hibki's MP3 player playing James Brown doing I Got You (I Feel Good), as they reached a Devil's Toweresque mountain....dwarfing a huge stucco city--Dredge.

"Yo," said Cara, "Nuttin's changed here at all."

"Some things changed," said a breathless Jura, "but others remained the same.....it's good to be home.....!!"

Considering that Dredge was famous as The Neon City and its neons on the buildings,, even in the daytime, the city was breathtaking, like some kind of Italian villalike seacoast city on the side of a mountain, rivaling that of say, Manhattan. Plenty of white stucco buildings, silver glass buildings,  
and all sorts of buildings were all over the city, with billboards, huge screens, trains and dusty streets with cars, oasises and rivers and gardens were the example of a Jovian paradise.

Along the way, Hibiki had been doing some thinking......was Magno his big sister or granma? If it was the latter, then he had two sisters, and Dita was one of them. Maybe he would figure it out long after the PSE was defeated for good; for now, he and the rest landed a yard outside the city and after climbing out from their ships, entered it at the main entrance, taking in the sights, looking foward to the night when the city would be lit up with its famous neons.

"What do you think, Meia?" said the Van pilot.

"If it weren't for the dirt streets," said the head Dread pilot, "I'd define it as paradise. Maybe when it gets to be night, we'll see just how famous the city is, according to Jura and Cara."

"Hope they've got a good roadhouse," said Barnette.

"I shouldn't say why not," said Misty. "I was there once before during my tour of duty with the PSE."

"As we did ourselves, some time ago," said Gie Bele. "The PSE also had an island base for lab creations and factory purposes on the island of Bele Kreuz here."

Sighing, Gascogne said, "If only the boss and B.C. were alive to see all that."

"I wager," said Tsitra, who was holding onto Bart's arm, "that they're seeing all that........in spirit."

"Amen," agreed Bart.

"The question is," said Dita, "where's the hotels to stay here at?"

"Maybe there's a few hostels nearby," said Duero. "When in doubt, ask a local."

"How 'bout that roadhouse over there?" said Parfet, who pointed to a low slung concrete and stucco blockhouse of a building named Sector 27.

"Just what I was thinking of," said Cara. "My parents and me used to hang out there--it's part roadhouse, part cantina and part family resturaunt."

"That and the fact that the owner, Severin Croft was a friend of my parents," said Jura, a touch of melencholoy in her voice as she enter the building, with the others following.

Inside, the interior was low key, lit up by recessed pink neon, stucco and plaster walls, neon illuminated tables with people dining and drinking. To the left of the low ceilinged place was a bar with many tubes with hoses for pouring drinks and flat screen TVs showing the news; behind the bar was a bald on the top dark haired man in his forties who said in surprise, "Jura Basil Elden......? So it is!!"

"Severin," said Jura, "you haven't changed a bit."

"But you grew up," said Severin, who came out from the bar and stood before the Dread diva, exclaiming,  
"You're safe!! Praise be to Jesus you're safe!! When I heard the Pereira Star Empire and its Empress raided your home and murdered your parents, I feared the worst.......at least, I took good care of your apartment home and kept it clean. Want the key for it? Want today's special? Anything to eat? So help me, it's great to see you!!"

"We'll start with the key," said Jura, "and you can get my good friends here"--she gestured to Hibiki and co-  
"anything they want. I'd also like a private catered celebration chamber for June 16, next week for my wedding reception."

"I get it," said the owner, "you plan to tie the knot. Who's the lucky dude?"

"Let's just say," replied the diva, "that he's a legend in his own right, chosen to dethrone Ms. Pereira and set everything back to rights the way it used to be."

"Well anyone that can put an end to the PSE is OK with me," said Sevrin. "You got yourself the best room for the occasion and we'll work out the catering. That'll be 1200 ingots."

"Fine with me," said blonde, who took out her money and started to count it: "100, 200, 300, 400, 500,  
600, 700, 800, 900, 1000, 1200 ingots."

"I wondered what Jura spends her money on," muttered Barnette in amazement.

"It takes all kinds, I guess," said Hibiki.

"What a wedding it's going to be," snickered Cara.

On the east side of the apartment like building that had been home for Jura before she was abducted,  
was a garden that had a running brook that encircled in a square pattern 'round the center of the garden,  
a bridge over the brook and pink stepping stones for the footpaths with lots of flower bushes, walls and a fountain nearby, a quiet peaceful spot. Seeing that, Gascogne whistled and said, "No wonder you chose such a place to tie the knot here. When I retire, I want a garden just like that for my own place."

"Maybe we'll work something out," agreed Jura. "You see, I used to play here when I was a little girl, so that garden means something special to me."

"I'd be sentimental myself if I was getting married," said Meia wistfully. "I miss the days when I used to play in the wide grassy field, not too far from where my Ohma and Fahma were. Will the earth be like that when all's said and done with defeating the PSE as well as terraforming the earth?"

"Someday," said Dita. "Maybe someday."

"I can hardly wait," said Cara.

"You and me both," said Barnette.

After so many years since hearded down the stairs by the Empress Brittany and her minions the night of her parents' death and abduction, Jura was ascending those same stairs, her compadres behind, reaching the top and opening up the door.........and there, everything was the same as it was years ago, kept in clean condition.

"Quite a place," said Misty.

"So here's where it all started for youse, eh?" said Cara.

"It was," said a saddened Jura, tears forming in her eyes........"if only the Empress hadn't murdered my parents,  
if only they were still alive then.......they would've known that at last, the galaxy would soon be free........but then, like Tsitra said, my parents may be knowing that as well, in spirit."

As time went on, with much of the Nirvana crew and Vanna and her court staying in hostels and hotels, while Gascogne and the Vandread team were staying in Jura's old home, since there was plenty of room. and during that time, the wedding arrangements were taking shape; the wedding would take place in the garden with the reception held in the private room in the Sector 27 roadhouse cantina where the catering a joint effort twixt the Nirvana staff, The Cornerstone Empire and Severin's staff. The marriage would be conducted by yet another old friend of Jura's, a Dredge parish Catholic priest named Father Juliano Batoli, who had baptized her when the Dread diva was a baby. For the second time in his life (he was also Duero's best man at his wedding), Bart would be the best man, only it would be for Hibiki, with Cid, Rael and Duero again as ushers. Gascogne, Tsitra and Gie Bele, in addition to Meia, Dita, Misty and Barnette would be the bridesmaids and Cara would be Jura's maid of honor. On that first day, when the first night did come, indeed the city was soon ablaze with neon, a vast spectrum of color--on buildings, signs walls, video screens, there was light from windows, doorways and, naturally, neons, like a Broadway like city of light and colors, cars, spacecraft flying overhead. Overall, it was easy to see why how much The Neon City known as Dredge meant so much to Cara and Jura.

As before, Hibiki was again doing a lot of thinking, that up to now, his mind had been first with fueling his ego during the gender wars, then the war with the Harvest, and now the war with the Pereira Star Empire and the quest to save the Earth, and so far, he hadn't come across something that hadn't been connected with what he had been trough, something to forget his troubles. So far, since the start of the gender war, he had never had any experience with women, and even having been with women since meeting the Mejere pirates, even the likes of Dita, Jura, Meia, Barnette, Misty, Gascogne, Magno, and so forth, he still felt like he never fully opened up to understanding females, much less open up to women in general, per se, let alone had any feelings of love and relations with them, never even thought of marriage, always on guard with his grouchy bitterness, his wall of shunning women away. Even after bringing a few good males for the Nirvana's women after the end of the Harvest war, the hothead had, despite whatever he had said to Dita, never came of age in matters of love and feelings, of understanding women, still standoffish, keeping his feelings and such hidden. As time went on however, strating with the reunion and the current war with the evil PSE, he had opened up whatever feelings he had, maturing, as did Dita, Misty, Meia, Barnette and Jura--Dita, growing up and abandoning her ditzy UFO ways, Misty, acting her mature and valiant ways, proving to be experienced with weapons and piloting a Dread, Meia, opening up more of her feelings as the Van pilot did, Barnette, putting aside her man hating ways, all business like and even giving the hothead a pet name and Jura, ditching her greedy vain ways, along with her ambitions for a baby, truly acting in a more mature way, with genuine love and not false love, as Hibiki put it--after all, after her long nightmare of losing her parents and reluctantly serving the PSE, even love and marriage seemed to be the one thing to lift the blonde's spirits high,  
as well as bring balance back to the genders.

Marriage.......

For Hibiki Tokai, love and marriage seemed so foreign, as if he didn't believe the genders were SUPPOSED,  
no, allowed to marry, and have a baby or more, but according to Misty and all the other video recordings and history books in the old archives, it was so. For that matter, given the fact that Duero and Parfet fell in love, and married, followed by Bart and Tsitra, it was possible. So why was the hothead feeling he wasn't ready for the altar? Why couldn't he be in love, much less feel it and enjoy it? Why didn't he want to be in love from the start? At that point, Jura's words, that she had said in the Nirvana hangar durning the reunion came back to mind.......

"The trouble with you is, you don't know what love is," the Dread diva had said. So maybe that was true; since the start of the gender wars twixt Taarak and Mejere, Hibiki had indeed no inkling on any idea, concept, nor meaning of love. He never knew love existed. And even before and after the war with The Harvest, he still had no time for love, even during the current war with the PSE. With so much happening, even after the likes of Dita, Jura and Misty, the Van pilot had no time for love, nor the time to enjoy it, to experience real love......

"One of these days, I may prove to you that love doesn't suck all the time," the blonde had also said. And prove it to Hibiki, she did, starting off with his first kiss as well as the first french kiss, which topped the kiss he had gotten from Misty, slow, deep, hot, sensuous and loving, the kind of kiss that sent sparks, the kind of kiss that sent sparks all over the body, the kind of kiss that spoiled the Van pilot beyond recovering. Well, that and the tale of Jura's past, and her "growing up," as the hothead called it, not to mention her real love coming through, had a hand in it. Now, on the terrace of the Basil Elden apartment, staring out at the neons, lights,  
screens and billiboards of Dredge's skyline, along with the starry sky and Jupiter's outline, his MP3 player playing The Weavers' Good Night, Irene, Hibiki pondered on the possibility of the thrid marriage happening in the Nirvana crew, that the blonde's love was for real and not a counterfeit love just for her own gains.  
Could he truly fall in love and settle down with a real soul mate? Did Jura truly change for the better?  
Right now, Hibiki couldn't be sure. But then, another thought came up: if the Empress Brittany created the Pyxises, the Vandread technology and the Harvest, was it possible she may had somehow started the war between the genders, as well twixt Taarak and Mejere? Given her expertise, it may had been possible......

It was then that Jura stepped out the door and onto the terrace and asked, "What's the matter?"

Jolted out from his reverie, Hibiki replied, "So much on my mind, I ain't got a hard dive with the right amount amount of gigs of storage to make a list of."

"Try me," said the blonde pilot.

"I was thinking," said the hothead, "if the PSE Empress created the Pyxises, the Vandread technology and the Harvest, I wouldn't be suprised that she may had also started the war between the genders, as well twixt Taarak and Mejere."

"I wouldn't doubt it," said the Dread diva. "If she did, then she should be held responsible for all the deaths,  
heartache, headache and war and strife between the genders she caused. One woman, just one woman caused all that!! Because of that &*%#$^ Brittany Pereira, males and females don't know how to love, nor marry!  
If she and her Empire never existed, how different everything would've been........."

"Amen, J.B.E.," said the Van pilot. "Just think of how easier the genders could've gotten along without having to fight, like we did then."

Giggling, Jura said, "Right said. So, you nervous over our wedding day tomorrow?"

"Nervous?" said Hibiki. "Scared, but not nervous is how I see it."

"I feel the same way myself," said the blonde, "to the point of having cold feet."

Looking down at the Dread diva's feet, the hothead said, "Well no wonder you got cold feet--you forgot your shoes."

Seeing that she had come out with just her bare feet, Jura could only laugh and blush, giggling, "So I did.  
Well, let's not to forget to kiss when we're pronounced as husband and wife."

"Maybe we should reherse?" suggested the Van pilot.

In reply, the Dread diva stepped foward, wrapped her long arms 'round Hibiki and kissed deeply as he held her waist, each giving as good as they got, the hothead tasting the blonde's lip gloss, as she tasted the faint traces of breath spearmints the Van pilot used, before their tongues entwined with each other, something the two savored a lot.

In the morning, on June 16, the wedding for Hibiki Tokai and Jura Basil Elden got under way, starting with those invited gathering in the garden section; as with Bart and Tsitra's wedding, today's wedding was also televised so that no matter where anyone was in Dredge, they could get a great view of the nuptials and the reception.  
So far, the garden was full of the tribes at hand: the Empress Vanna and her Cornerstone Empire court--her niece Xaan, Vanna's mom, Govenor Mallory Traedi, General Jessica Per, the Synthesis helmswoman Ensign Gospodin Polkovnik, Weg Balderon, Dr. Nero Pilate, Major Kolid Fendleman and Jacinda Sterry, along with the Nirvana crew and finally a aged priest in his fifties, Father Juliano Batoli.. A pause.......and then Parfet played her MP3 player and it played, at Hibiki's request, The Squirrel Nut Zippers' Anything But Love,  
before, one by one, they came down the aisle--Paiway as the flower girl again, doing Pai Checks along the way and using her frog puppet, saying, "It's a marriage made in heaven, ribbit," and scattering the rose petals. Then came the bridesmaids--Gascogne, Tsitra, Gie Bele, Meia, Dita, Misty and Barnette--in peach colored satin strapless dresses with baby's breath garlands on their heads., followed by the black tuxedoed ushers, Duero,  
Cid and Rael, then the equally black tuxedoed Bart and Hibiki, followed last of all by the peach strapless satin dressed Cara and finally Jura, carrying her bouquet in one hand, a white lace fan in the other, long white ribbon bows tied round loosely round each wrist, and in a wedding dress similar to Tsitra's--white seven tiered satin off the shoulder with five bows at the waist part in the back, a white satin ribbon neck band with a red crystal heart around her neck, a white rose and baby's breath in her hair near her right ear and a lace veil like the headdresses worn by the Spanish senioritas. Upon the two arriving at the altar, Father Juliano said, "Hibiki Tokai?'

"Absolutely," said the Van pilot.

"Peace be with you, I am Father Juliano," said the priest. "Jura here, told me so much of how you cared for her.  
I pray that you and her be happy together........well, let's get started." A pause, and then he did the sign of the cross, saying, "In the name of The Father, and The Son, and The Holy Spirit, Amen."

From there, the marriage ceremony got underway, starting with the opening prayer, readings from the Old and New Testaments, a responsorial psalm, the "alleluia" before the Gospel, and a Gospel reading. before the homily.  
After that, came the exchange of vows, the Father saying, "We will now conduct the exchange of the marriage vows;  
Hibki, you remember what to say? You start."

"I, Hibiki Tokai," said the Van pilot. "take you, Jura Basil Elden. to be my lawfully wedded wife. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life. I,  
Hibiki Tokai, take you, Jura Basil Elden, for my lawful wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part."

At that, Meia and the other Nirvana women--along with Vanna and the women of her court--started crying their eyes out.

"Your turn, Jura," said Fr. Juliano.

"I, Jura Basil Elden," began the Dread diva, "take you, Hibiki Tokai, to be my lawfully wedded husband. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.  
I, Jura Basil Elden, take you, Hibiki Tokai, for my lawful husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part."

"Well done," said the Father.

12,000 yards from Dredge, 2700 feet in the sky, was the Hohenzollern, when up in the bridge tower, the Empress Brittany,  
livid over the sabotage and the defection of Misty, Tsitra and Gie Bele, not to mention the wedding twixt the General and Bart, having picked up on the broadcast, was saying to the Admiral, "Given the fact the General and the Major defecting over to the Nirvana, that may explain the reason why the Vouivre attacked the ship. At least, those L7 sods did me a favor by hoisting those Boogaloos on their own torpedo petard."

At that moment, Officer Cici Kano said, "My Empress, we're picking up TV coverage broadcasts on channel 1964 from Dredge."

"Onscreen," said the PSE ruler

Out of nowhere came the triangular telescreen, which now showed the ceremony in the garden; Jura had finished her vows,  
and Father Juliano said, "Well done," than added, "May we have the rings, please?"

"So," said Pereira, "the scion of Lord Granpa and Lady Granma ties the knot with a traitor."

"One redhead," said Admiral Chimali, "and one blonde. Must be something in the air."

"They're cuckoo," said Rear Admiral Eos.

"Could be," said the PSE ruler, "for two L7 sods." At that, she and much of her bridge staff took to raucous laughing.

On the screen, Bart presented Jura's diamond pentagon ring to the Father, who blessed it and gave it to Hibiki, who in turn ,  
slipped it on the blonde's finger. Then the blessing was repeated for the Van pilot's wedding band, and from there, the Dread diva slipped it on the hothead's finger. After that, Father Juliano said, "What God hath put together, let no one put asounder. I now pronnounce you husband and wife....................................you may kiss the bride."

Already Jura and Hibiki did just that, holding and kissing each other deeply, amidst the tears and the applause.

"UGGH!! Disgusting!!" said the Admiral. "Who's up for a group hurl?"

"Not just yet," said Brittany. "We'll wait till the reception and put one over on those Vandread sods."

"Sounds like Furi Kuri to me," said the Rear Admiral.

After the ring exchange, the Prayer of the Faithful followed, a personal prayer by the couple, and then the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Then the Nuptial Blessing and finally the Father did the blessing and the sign of the cross, then: " That concludes our Mass, go in peace."

"Thanks be to God," chorused everyone, before there was more applause and cheers--and, for which no wedding was ever complete without--rice tossed as the hothead and the blonde walked down the path and out from the garden.

After seeing Hibiki and Jura depart, the PSE Empress said, "I wouldn't believe it if I haven't seen it. So, two L7 sods, now husband and wife. I admire their courage, but as they say, till death do they part, as it will be with those other Vandread sods, The Cornerstone Empire, and the inhabitants of Dredge--not to mention a handful of traitors and those remaining Boogaloos. Set your course for Dredge and have the Diamantes and our Stastis Field Projector on standby."

"Understood, my Empress," said Chimali.

The interior of the private room in Sector 27 was lit up with pink and blue neons, with plaster walls, highlighting the neon colors, the food and the cake on a table in the center of the room, with several other white tableclothed tables scattered around, all due in part of the joint effort from Severin Croft's staff, the Nirvana crew and The Cornerstone Empire. Right now, the Empress Vanna went to the door, looked out and said to the crowd, "OK, folks, let's welcome the Vandread newlyweds--Hibiki and Jura Tokai!!"

At that, the crowd cheered and clapped (cue the tune, Relax from the Vandread soundtrack) as Hibiki and Jura entered,  
and that was when the hothead sneezed, "AAA-CHUU!!"

"Gesundheit," said the blonde.

Sniffling, the Van pilot said, "Well, no wonder!! Jura, you got goldenrods mixed with your white roses and baby's breath!!"

"Oh, that," said the Dread diva, who was looking at her bouquet, then added, "I read somewhere that in flower language,  
goldenrod translated as 'Good luck.'"

"But in any other language," said Hibiki, "it also translates as 'Hay fever.'"

"No worries," said Jura, who called out, "OK, ladies, it's time!! Here comes the bouquet!!"

It didn't take long for the many females to gather and reach out for the bouquet the blonde tossed out--and Gie Bele got it, saying, "Seems Jura wasn't the only one to luck out."

"So it would seem," said Tsitra. "A far cry from serving that bastard Pereira."

"OK, guys," called out the Dread diva as she took her garter off from her leg, "it's your turn!!" then tossed it to the crowd of eager fellows who jumped into a pile to grab the garter--and it turned out Rael was the winner, saying, "I got lucky.......oh boy...."

As soon as the new couple came to where the center table with the cake and the Nirvana crew were, Bart was the first to approach them, cheering, "Whoa man!! Way to go, Hibiki!!"

"Sounds kind of strange," said Hibiki. "after years--or was it days?-- when I tried to avoid all of Jura's advances, after I caved into Dita half way through when we were first in the Ikazutchi."

"Well, that was then, but here's now," said Duero. "You were raised a loner, yet the fella you were living with had to send you to Taarak's capital city so you could have friends--and now fast foward to today. With your latest marriage, you, me, and Bart may bring back the balance between the genders."

"Well put," said Gascogne. "Hibiki, congrats on your first hit of the season, you and Jura played like the leading roles you were born to do."

"I don't follow you," said a puzzled Jura.

"She means we did well during the wedding," said the Van pilot. "But wait--supposing another crisis comes up, just like what those $^&%#* Boogaloos did during Bart and the General's wedding."

"No worries," said Meia. "Vanna's got her bunch using their CTI senses to seek for any trouble and we've got our ships standing by outside the city, ready to launch from the word go. By the by, congratulations to you and Jura."

"My sentiments exactly," said Gie Bele. "By the way, when do we eat?"

"Soon, believe you me," said Parfet. "and I can hardly wait."

"Congrats to you and the J-gal, poop-a-doop," said Barnette. "I hope you two do better than she and I did then."

"So me and you weren't perfect then, eh, Barnette?" said the blonde. "Go figure."

"Youse know," said Cara, "I always cry at weddings and for a good reason."

"When they give away the bride?" said Dita.

"No," said the cheerleader turned Dread pilot, "when they give away the food." Then noticing the white wedding cake on the table, she moaned, "White cake again?"

"Don't knock it if you haven't tried it," said Misty. "I like the buttercream cakes--sugar all the way through with the frosting between the cake layers."

"Well, diet be lynched for now," said Jura, "let's cut that cake!!"

"A commendable suggestion, to say the least," agreed Tsitra, before turning to the crowd and announcing, "Listen up, all--it's time to check out the newlyweds as they cut the cake."  
With the crowd turning their attention to the center of the room, Jura took out her long sword and Hibki blurted out, "Jura, you don't use a sword to cut a cake!! Get a knife!!"

"So?" said the Dread diva. "I've seen couples use a sword to cut a cake in the archives Misty found."

"You sure?" said the doubtful hothead.

"Positive," said the blonde. "Just help me make these slices here."

So while the crowd chanted, "One, two, cut, one, two, cut, one, two, cut, one, two, cut," Jura and the Van pilot held the sword carefully and cut the cake in several slices, with plenty of slices for everyone, as the crowd clapped and cheered. From there, each tool a slice of cake, while the blonde ate the frosting carefully off her sword blade and used a wet towel to clean it, then bit into her cake piece.

"All that buttercream and frosting with a gooey cake," said Hibiki. "How's your slice?"

"Truly devine," replied the Dread diva, "but my sword will never be the same."

Suddenly, Vanna ran up, with her mother Mallory, Xaan and Jessica in tow saying, "Hey guys!! We just sensed a flux in our CTI senses-  
the Empress and her rollicking PSE court is coming here onboard the Hohenzollern, intent on demolishing Dredge!!"

"Worse still," said Mallory, they may use their electrostatic Stastis Fold Projector to jam the city's defenses.........."

".........your weapons and you Dreads..........." said Xaan.

"..........and foul up our CTI chi," said Jessica.

"The gall of them," said Cara, "to come right here, to Dredge--and during a wedding no less!!"

"Man, that burns me up!!" growled Hibiki. "One fouled up wedding was bad enough, two's the unkindest cut!!"

"I say we kick some PSE BUT-TOCKS!!" said Barnette.

Then what you waiting for?" said Vanna. "Get going!! We'll give you support with our Mantas and Tsitra and Gei Bele will do the same with their Diamantes."

"OK, jokers, you heard the V-gal," said Gascogne, "get your butts out to your Dreads, MOVE IT!!"

And move it they did, each taking a slice of cake and a bottle of champagne on the way out.

"That $^&*%# Hohenzollern's earmarked for the junk yard," muttered Jura, "and there's no way that Ms. Pereira and her PSE punks're going to ruin our wedding!!"

"That *%#$^& Brittany Pereira," grumbled the Van pilot, "she's just no good, she just no ^&*#%$ good.....!!"

Even with its stealth fold on, the rumbling from its engines told Gascogne & Co. of the Hohenzollern's arrival, but they made it to their ships--Gascogne to her ship, Hibiki to his Van, the rest of the team to their Dreads, the Major and the General to their Diamantes and Vanna and her court to their SOD 1200 and Mantas respectively, then took off, as the PSE flagship unfolded from its invisibility, even as the city trained its anti aircraft weapons on their giant assassin.

In the control bridge, Admiral Xaltocan Chimali said to the PSE ruler, "Dredge approaching."

"Prepare the SFP and wait for my signal, for now, take the conn," said Pereira. "Ready all weapons and get the crews to their Diamantes--and ready mine as well. Battle stations!!"

"Battle stations!!" ordered Chimali, before the klaxons sounded, the carrier weapons geared up, the Diamantes fueled and readied for their pilots and the antenna for the Stasis Field Projector rose up from its enclosure.

"Empress," reported Officer Kano, "tracker contact, range 7000, bearing 1-5-5, grid coordinates 770/413--a supply ship of hybrid design, a Vanguard, six Dreads, two Diamantes and a squadron of The Cornerstone Empire's Manta squadron!!"

"Even better than I had hoped," said the Empress. "Let's send them home to cry."

Once in formation, Gascogne said to all, "As always, our task is: don't kill anyone!! Just knock out the enemy and the weapons along with that stasis antenna--where's it located?"

"Behind the bridge tower," said Tsitra. "Just don't get yourselves hit with its electrostatic beam, or it can jam your technology!!"

"I'll stand by for support," said Gascogne. "the rest of you, be careful!!"

Even as the enemy Diamantes took off and out from the carrier's hangars, led by the Empress Brittany, Meia, embarrased at piloting her Dread in her bridesmaid dress, could imagine how Hibiki and Jura were equally embarrassed at piloting their ships in a tuxedo and wedding dress respectively, even so, she spoke to her crew, "OK, you heard the boss, just don't kill anyone--concentrate on knocking out their fightercraft, weapons and that stastis projector, before any future couples miss their weddings."

"ROGER!!" chorused the Dread pilots, as Gie Bele and Tsitra likewise said "UNDERSTOOD!!"

"Don't worry 'bout a thing," said Vanna from her SOD 1200. "We'll deal with the enemy Diamantes, you just take out the weapons."

"Thanks," said the Dread leader.

To her crew, Vanna said, "Just don't kill the enemy, only cripple their ships, and if Gascogne's bunch need our help, step in. And watch out for that stastis projector, as it's bad news to our CTI chi--and everything else. Hurry before they blast Dredge off the map!!"

"TAO!!" said the Manta pilots, among them, Mallory, Xaan, Jessica, Kolid and Rael.

Even now, the Empress' Diamante squadron was point blank on their path to taking on their targets, the PSE ruler saying, "Stay in striking A one A formation. I'll take on the first wave myself; the rest of you, take out their support ships, so cover me. Take no captives!!"

"UNDERSTOOD!!" said the enemy pilots.

The battle of Dredge had begun.

The city's guns were trained on the carrier, which was nearing overhead, till the Dredge guns were blasting against the flagship's sheilding, even as the SFP antenna was aiming for Dredge, ready to render the city vulnerable......that is, until the Vandread crew showed up, skimming the surface of the flagship carrier, Tsitra and Gie Bele's fighter ships helping out with blasting a few emplacements.

"OK, group," said Meia, "let's take out those weapons emplacements with the new seven step strike, before we take out that stastis antenna--let's start with Vandread Meia--hey, it's me."

"Those PSE punks," said Hibiki, who loosened his tuxedo tie, "won't know what hit them."

Jumping into action, the Van united with Meia's Dread, forming Vandread Meia, then aimed at the Hohenzollern's milssile silos.

"All set?" said Meia.

"Lock and load!!" replied the hothead.

At that, Vandread Meia shot out a brilliant blast, which raked at the missile silo hatches, blasting gouges in the said hatches, which would clog up the silos. That finished, the fighter ships seperated.

"Time for Vandread Dita," said Meia.

Already, the Van pilot had now united his Van with his sister's Dread, and flew off where the carrier's torpedo tubes were located, already, as it were with the missiles, firing torpedes.

"All set, sis?" said the hothead.

"Heat 'em up!!" replied the UFO otaku.

"SMOKIN"!!" said Hibiki--

--before a hyper blast from Vandread Dita scoured thr torp tubes, blasting any torpedoes just as they were fully launed.

"Vandread Misty," called Meia.

Already, Hibiki parted from Dita, and united with Misty, then blasted out several of the seismic bomb launching ports, then the hothead changed over to Barnette's Dread before taking out the phaser cannons, then merging with Cara to knock out the enemy carrier's many radar antennae.

The Mantas, on the other hand, were in one heck of a dogfight with the Empress' Diamantes, dodging the flak from the PSE's firepower.

"How can we take out those Diamantes," said Mallory, "with out hitting the ones owned by Taltli and Garsus?"

"I had the techs," said Vanna, "upgrade the friendly Diamantes with a special ID transmitter; if any of themj show up in any ally's targeting sights, a green triangle comes onscreen, so keep it in mind."

"You think of everything, you know that?" said Xaan.

Already, the Mantas were blasting at the engines of the enemy ships, causing the pyramid control pods to detatch and fly off, each pilot safe; once, one lone enemy ship aligned in Rael's target screen, and the CE Brigidier General said, "There's no green triangle," then blasted its engines, the enemy pilot jettisoning off to safety.

"We're losing our fightercraft left and right," said one of the Diamante pilots to the Empress.

"Stay sharp!!" said Pereira. "Close up formation, and we'll try a multi tiered wave to shake them down!!"

"Empress," said Admiral Chimali over the radio, "the Vandread team's been taking out our weapons and radar sytems!! No telling what else they could trash next!!"

"Sheild power?" said the PSE ruler.

"Down to 40%,' replied the Admiral.

"Time to give those Vandread sods something sobering, and in the worst way," said Brittany. "Put the stastis projector on them!!"

Already the square shaped projector was swiveling on its telscoping mount as it aimed for the Vandread team, right before Meia called out, "Vandread Jura!!"

"Aye, aye, Mon Capitaine," said Hibiki before detatching from Cara's Dread and flying to Jura's, saying, "Ready for our first battle as man and wife?"

Adjusting her bridal veil and fanning with her lace fan, Jura replied, "Oh, you better believe it, sweetie."

But before Hibiki could merge his Van with the red Dread, the SFP antenna was already locked on target, Xaltocan Chimali reporting to the Empress, "SFP locked on the Vandread team."

"Transmit," ordered the PSE ruler.

Once again, the SFP antenna shot out its sprialing whte light and it struck home on the Vandread team's ships, Gascogne's ship and the friendly Diamantes, jamming their weapons and causing their engines to sputter, yet they sputtered to the end, just to keep in the air, lest they fall.

"Oh, $^&*%#!!" said Hibiki. "What's happening?!?"

"Our weapons and engines got jammed........!!" said Meia.

"It's got to be the stastis field projector," said Gie Bele. "Unless we pull free from its range, we'll crash for sure!!"

"Thanks a lot!!" said Gascogne. "I'd like to lynch the retard that designed that projector!!"

"I believe that was the Empress' own creation," said Tsitra, matter of factly.

"Like I said," said Gascogne," "I'd like to lynch that retard Pereira."

"One thing's for sure," said Barnette, "we can't keep our ships airborne forever!! We're going to crash!!"

Not too far away, Vanna and her squadron saw the jam Gascogne and co. were in, and said, "Oh, great, not again!! Those retards just can't stop bothering the Vandread crew!! Let's pull off the classic Vertigo Dive--it never fails."

"TAO!!" chorused the Manta pilots, before they went in for a power dive for the left hand side of the Hohenzollern's bidge tower, blasting at the sides for a few scars. Seeing that, Pereira called out to her wingmates, "Dive!! Dive!! Get those %*#$^& Mantas!!"

"UNDERSTOOD!!" said the pilots, as they and their ruler dove after the Mantas, who veered up and away from the tower and from the path of the diving enemy; seeing the possibility for a crash unless something was done, the Empress yelled out, "Pull out!  
Pull out!!" Instantly, the enemy Diamantes regained control and veered away from the tower in time, the livid PSE ruler ordering to the Admiral, "Redirect the stastis projector on the Mantas."

"We'd best hurry quick," said Chmali on the comm. "That projector's draining the power on its own reactor and you know how long that takes to recharge."

"Just do it," said Brittany.

At once, the antenna swung away from Gascogne and co., and towards that Mantas; seeing that, Vanna ordered, "Break up, disperse and scatter!!"

Which they did, scattering off for the different parts of the sky, the stastis antenna swinging in a circle to try and lock onto a target. Freed from the grip of the stastis field, Gascogne said, "OK, jokers, time for some Vandread justice--and smile, got it?"{

"Already on it," said Hibiki, who said, "Let's give them the works!!" then merged with Jura's Dread for Vandread Jura before saying,  
"All set for the coupe de grass?"

"Payback time on Pereira's punks for cutting in on our wedding," replied the Dread diva.

"Aye, aye, Captain," said the Van pilot in a Scottish accent, "setting the phasers to stun."

As before, Vandread Jura shot out from all its sides, the multiple phaser blasts which took the enemy Diamantes, Pereira's fightercraft included, joined by Tsitra and Gie Bele blasting away as well, each pilot ejecting from the crippled and exploding craft and making a beeline for the carrier hangars, Brittany muttering, "Not again."

That victory complete, Hibiki called out, "Beat it, you PSE punks, and don't come back!!"

"WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!" crowed Jura before she sprinkled her share of kisses on her newlywed spouse, finishing with a deep kiss on the mouth, adding, "Payback time for what you did to my parents, eh Pereira?"  
Then, to Hibiki's surprise, she gunned the Vandread in one giant loop the loop, saying, "Come on, you big turkey!!"

Arriving at the Hohenzollern bridge, a chagrined Empress Brittany glanced out the tower windows--and saw Vandread Jura doing the impossible with the loop, and said, "What the--?!? NO!! IT'S IMPOSSIBLE!!""

At last, the Vandread finished the loop, Jura calling out, "Hey you &^$%#*, what do you think of your Ace Of Aces now? I did what only you could do--so there!!" and finishing with a raspberry.

"You ^&$*#%!!" roared the PSE ruler. "Copying me don't make you C moon!!"

"Stick around, B.P.," said Hibiki, "it's only a start." And with that in mind, he, Jura and the rest of the team merged.........into Super Vandread, a much improved version of the original Super Vandread.

"Incredible......!!" breathed Pereira, her eyes as wide as two wheels. "I didn't expect that.......!!"

So taken by surprise at the new spectacle, the PSE ruler and much of the Hohenzollern staff didn't pay attention to the fact, that Super Vandread shot out a one huge blast which hit both the SFP antenna and its mount, both crashing down in its housing.

"ZAMMO!! TOAST!!" said Hibiki.

"And just in time," said Meia.

"Right on the old bazoo," said Dita.

"POWIE!!" said Barnette.

"Score one for the Vandread crew!!" said Cara.

"Match in the gas tank....BOOM BOOM!!" said Misty.

"KA-BLOOIE!!" said Jura.

"Take a bow, Vandreaders," said Gascogne. "it's yet another first hit of the season!!"

Already luckless, weaponless and victoryless, a furious Brittany roared, "You %*#$^&!! You're stupid!! You're &^$*  
STUPID!!!! You're responsible for all that, you.......you........you...........you........!!"

"Since when do you take up mantra chants, B.P.?" said Hibiki. "Now get lost before we kick you and you PSE punks all the way to Mississipi and you know how that spells."

From there, the hothead stood and with the Vandread felmales joining in, they chanted, "M, I, crooked letter, crooked letter I, crooked letter, crooked letter I," then followed that with some raucous laughter, topping that off with the rudest raspberries anywhere.

Her face red as a pomegranate, Pereira yelled out, "I'm APPALLED!!!! I'm bloody APPALLED!!!! Be warned, though--next time, you L7 sods may not get off so easy, for that matter, you bastards won't know what hit you, when you least expect i!! And next time, I might finish you with full strength!! So what ever you do--BEWARE!! When the time is right, I'll hit you sods harder than before when you least expect it!! In the immortal words of William Shakespere, slander--whose edge is sharper than the sword....!!"

Turning off her broadcast, the Empress said to the Admiral, "Retreat."

After that, the Hohenzollern, turned round and flew off away from the neon city of Dredge, just as it was sunset, the neons now ablaze.........

With the Imperial PSE carrier routed, the company came back to Sevrin's roadhouse to continue the reception, starting with Gascogne saying, "I propose a toast to the former hothead known as Hibiki Tokai, now a married man, who with his wife Jura's help,  
can bring balance back to the genders, and fufill Jura's dream of having a baby, which ever comes first."

"Hear, hear," said Tsitra.

"What she said," added Gie Bele.

Afterwards, came the first dance as man and wife, in which Parfet's MP3 player was playing Nigel Olsson's Dancin' Shoes, the Van pilot and the blonde holding each other close, their cares put aside now that the worst was over. Yet, even so, they couldn't help but worry over the day when the evil PSE Empress would be back, with perhaps an even worse surprise for everyone. Which meant the Vandread crew had to be ready at all times...........but for now...............

After the reception, Jura and Hibiki took off for the city's night skies in Vandread Jura, which had a bilingual banner reading JUST MARRIED stuck on the back, as they flew over the skyline, fireworks adding to the neon lights all over, flying over the city for an hour or two, as the Dread diva pointed out some highlights and old memories.

"You know," said the hothead, "even after all that, it's still hard to believe I wed you."

"You'd better believe we wed," said the grinning blonde, "and we've got the rings to prove it."

Later in the night, Hibiki carried Jura over the threshold of the Basil Elden aprtment and to the bedroom; after that lights went out, what happened next was quite obvious.................and after a handful of hours later, Jura could be heard, breathing, "I love you," and Hibiki saying, "I know," before sneezing, "AAA-CHUU!!" and the Dread diva again saying, "Gesundheit."

Looks like Jura finally had a lot of her wishes fufilled, and maybe so did Hibiki. It's hard to say if he was ready for the altar, but perhaps maybe Jura can help our #1 hothead with that. Maybe, as Gascogne once said, they might get that stucco house with Spanish tile roofing and a white picket fence. All the same, it's confusing. So maybe my latest chapter was so long and a bit out of Vandread canon, forgive me, but I plan to make up for that in future chapters, or your money back.  
--a440.

Next: Chapter 20: The Queen Is Gone 


	21. The Queen Is Gone

Some things you can't forsee. That also applies to anime storylines-  
ditto for the Vandread saga, don't you think?  
--a440

CHAPTER 20: THE QUEEN IS GONE

Gascogne, for her part, gave another week or so for everyone to recover from the party spirit of the wedding as well as time for Hibiki and Jura to complete their honeymoon, which would be at the time the repairs would be completed on the Nirvana. So maybe at last, the Van pilot and the Dread diva got what they wanted, and more. Well, maybe even more than that even before their marriage when after they had"practiced" their kiss on the June 15 before the wedding day, they went back inside the apartment and shared a bottle of cough syrup before falling into the its strong effects, and were soon staring at the screen, which was showing (what else?) Animals Close Up with A Wide Angled Lens, as well as singing out with I Like Bananas, Because They Have No Bones, to Gascogne's amusement, as she muttered, "Deja vu."

Looking back on their wedding night and honeymoon, Hibiki (reluctantly) had to admit that at first, he wasn't sure how to love, until Jura showed him the way, before all the bottled up love the hothead had for years exploded loose, as if he had fell in love before, he and the blonde loving every moment of it. Maybe the diva HAD been right that there were hidden feelings of love, something that the Harvest and the PSE were unable to supress.

Now on the morning that the Vandread team (who were back in their normal duds since the day after the wedding) were ready to depart from Dredge, Jura and Cara were taking one last look at the garden where the wedding took place, then the apartment where the Dread diva had spent her childhood, with the regret of havingto depart for the second time. Then, they met with Gascogne and co in the central street, a yard or so from the Sector 27 roadhouse.

"Finished with your trip down Memory Lane?" said Gascogne.

"Yup," said Jura, who now held onto Hibiki's hand, a look of melencholy on her face. "Sometimes you can't help but feel sentimental. "I do hope the war can be over and the earth terraformed back to what it was before. I dream of living in Toronto, and someday opening a restraunt so that I can create a unique selection of food--something for everyone. In the summer, I'd like to live in Tokyo and help Hibiki here design the latest in fashionable mecha."

Grinning at that, the hothead said, "Who was it that said you couldn't have the best of both worlds?"

"I'd like to live in Tucumcari," said Dita, "and start a UFO preservation research and preservation group."

"True to form," said Gascogne, "Vegas for the win with me, so I can work as a card dealer in a casino."

"San Francisco for me," said Misty, "so I can work on developing the resources of the ocean."

"Give me Chicago," said Barnette, "so I can work in a deep dish pizza joint."

"Make mine New York City," said Cara, "and I can work in a hot dog place."

"Do you think," said Tsitra, "they would allow me and Bart to live in Long Beach, so that we start a place that specializes in wine and cheese?"

"Sure," said Bart, "which would start a new lease for Garsus Foods."

"I prefer a curio shop in Philadelphia," said Gie Bele, "as it settles me down to a safer peace of mind, don't you think?"

"Me?" said Meia. "My choice would be Miami, so that I could start a small roadhouse bar on South Beach."

"I'd rather prefer London," said Duero, "so that we can help a much needed nation in heath and repairs, as in humans and machines."

"And that ain't all," said Parfet. "Duero, get on with it, tell the group the latest good news that you told me."

"Latest good news?" said Gascogne.

"Well spit it out," said Meia, "don't dilly dally."

Pausing, the medical mastermind said, "Believe me it's no joke; during the last few days we were here, after the wedding, I examined Jura and it's official--she's pregnant with the hope of a baby girl, so it seems her dream's finally came true."

"WHOO-HOO!!" chirped Jura, who jumped up, clapping. "One of my dreams came true at last!! And all in the name of real love!!"

"As long as it was in marriage to start with," said Hibiki. "Wait, I gave you a baby?!? Holy cow, now I feel even more strung out!!"

"How 'bout that?" said Gascogne. "Hibiki, looks like you two got another mouth to feed in bringing the balance back to the genders."

"YAY!! Like I said, congrats to the poop-a-doop and to the J-gal," said Barnette.

"Congratulations on your efforts," said Tsitra.

"I repeat, way to go, Hibiki," said Bart.

"Well done, to say the least," said Gie Bele.

"The first couple to concieve and it's Hibki and Jura Tokai--RAH!!" said Cara.

"At least someone was able to have the first baby in years since Ezra," said Dita.  
"Maybe it'll be my turn, should I marry a lucky fellow."

"Yay for our Lord Prince and our Lady Princess," said Misty.

"Good for you two," said Meia. "Looks like something good did come out from that reunion, so I say you did the right thing in coming to the reunion."

"Like I said," said Hibiki, "don't remind me."

"Anyhoo," said Gascogne, "as soon as the Empress Vanna arrives, we're bound for the Nirvana for refueling, repairs and preperation before we take off for La Placa to take out the Apocalypse Engine. Jura, if you've got any last goodbys to say to your friends in the city, do it now, while you can, OK? We'll wait."

"Thanks," said Jura. "I'll be back in a few" Then turning to Hibiki, she shared a kiss and said,  
"When all is said and done with the war with the PSE and saving the earth, the worst will finally be over.........and with it, a new hope, that others may live......."

It was hard to say if the Van pilot was embarassed for what hppened next, especially when it came to saying it before his fellow Vandread crew mates, but all the same, he hesitantly said to the Dread diva, "I love you..............."

"I know," said the blonde. "I'll try to hurry back."

After one last quick kiss with Hibiki, Jura ran into the Sector 27 building.......a few seconds before Vanna came up and said, "So, is everyone ready to take out that Apocalypse Engine to save the future?"

"Soon as Jura finishes her goodbys with her friends," said Meia. "Again, thanks for all your help."

"Anytime at all," said the CE Empress. "We Balderonians were born to help in any circumstances insofar--oh no.......!!" Placing her right hand thumb, index and center fingers to her head, she tensed up in fear and said, "Holy bad timing!! Jura's in danger!! The last traces of The Boogaloos known as the Juddins came in Sector 27 through the back way, raided the roadhouse and they've got poor Jura!! How's that for bad timing?"

"In one go?" said Meia. "You've got to be joking."

As if to put aside Meia's doubts, what happened next was Jura shouting from inside Sector 27, "Let go!! I SAID, let GO!!"

"Pipe down and stop giving the orders here!!" said a female Austrailian accented voice, more mature and cutting. "We forbid you to say stuff like that to us in such a manner!!" That was followed with the sound of a slap.

"I knew we should've gone after those remaining Boogaloos!!" grumbled Hibiki.

"Who's the dummy that said the worst would be over?" said Gascogne, as she and the rest darted inside Sector 27--

--and were confronted with a dreadful sight; many of the patrons were cowering under the tables, Severin hiding behind his bar, Jiggy Jiggy Juddin in the center of the room, brandishing his phaser rifle saying, "Don't any of you try to play hero nor heroine, lest it ruin our plans for revenge!!" and worst of all, nearby, Pee Cee Bee and Harlow, hoisting up high over them, wrapped up mummylike from ankles to shoulders, in a silvery ribbonlike material known as conwebbing, writhing and trying to break free, Jura.

"Jiggy.....!!" said Vanna. "You've gone too far."

"Don't give me any orders, you so called sovergin!!" sneered the Boogaloo leader. "You're a has been compared to our great power!! Call yourself an Empress? Don't make me laugh!! If you wanna be a real ruler, expect to be crowned, so be careful who you worship, or you might get brain damage.. PARTY ON!!"

"Since when is it your ambition to steal a woman like Jura?" said Gie Bele. "On the other hand, I understand your idiotic reasons for doing so."

"Too right," said Jiggy, "ever since you and your General friend botched up our operations on Balderon and murdered my pet Spanger."

"You mean that manticore thing down in the dungeon?" said Tsitra. "You know, that was an unkind cut, dropping me and Gie Bele down that chute."

"So what else is new?" said Pee Cee Bee. "Anyhow, if you want your cougar friend alive, try to get me, my husband and my sister in law if you can. Then we'll negotiate her for the PSE Major and General in exchange."

"Otherwise," added Harlow. "please do the world a favor and go chop you stinky head off if you wanna part ways from your Jura friend." And on that, she, Pee Cee Bee and Jiggy ran back where they came from, down a long hall in the back of the building and out the exit, carrying the bound writhing Jura with them, Gascogne and co. following, out into an alley and into another street, with no sign of the Juddins.

"They got away," said Barnette.

"Great," said Hibiki, "how're we likely to track down those #%*^& Boogaloos in a huge city now?!?"

"Like you had to ask," muttered Gascogne.

"But wait," said Vanna, "you can't underestimate the power of the CTI telepathy which senses their brain wave patterns;  
even now, I just tracked them to where're they're hiding with Jura--in a storage goods wharehouse 7000 yards on the east side of the city, Building #413."

"If you ask me," said Dita, "all that CTI hocus pocus does is bring bad news."

"Not always," said Xaan, who, along with Jessica and Rael, just arrived, adding to Vanna, "We got your word on the comm and we got a battalion of the Bollix retinue standing by."

"Well done," said CE Empress, adding to the others, "If you're through singing the blues, let's hurry and save Jura from a death worse than fate."

"And soon," said Meia, before she and the group ran down the dusty street, Cara running after them, and calling out, "Y-yo,  
wait up!!".

Moments later, Hibiki & Co. were standing before Building #413, a white stucco blockhouse like building that stood 21 feet high and 30 feet long in the slum section of Dredge, and all seemed quiet inside and out.

"OK, jokers, listen up," said Gascogne, "we've got to get Jura out from the jam she's in and and boo those Boogaloos to justice, but remember, they've also got the CTI whatever it is, just like Vanna's CE bunch, so stay on your toes."

"Easier said than done," muttered Hibiki, "when I feel so strung out from what those ^&*%#$s did just now."

"Don't be a stick in the mud, huh?" said Meia. "Well, let's get started."

Trying to be discreet as possible (no easy task), the Vandread crew sneaked up to the main entrance of the building; from their vantage point at the threshold on the doorway, the group could see the utilitarian interior of the warehouse: containers, crates, boxes and drums of the city's goods all stored here--along with the bodies of the staff shot dead by the Juddins, no doubt. And there, several yards from theentrance, all the way at the back of the warehouse, were Jiggy Jiggy, Pee Cee Bee and Harlow, with their rifles--and before them, still mummy wrapped in the silver conwebbing ribbon, and tied to a support post with more of the said ribbon, was Jura, who now shrilled out at 21 decibels, "LET...............ME..............GO!!!!" "Quiet!! You're in no position to give the orders here!!" roared Jiggy, who vigorously slapped the blonde's face. "Now, or ever at all!! Even if you're a saucy cougar, I make the rules!! And you WILL OBEY!! In fact, you're our first cougar for our slave trade, wheeeee!!!!"

"Not to mention our ideal hostage for our demands," said Pee Cee Bee.

"But what that Major Taltli and her buddy General doesn't know is," said Harlow,"even if they surrender to us, we'll STILL keep the blonde cougar for oursevles for our own special purposes!!"

Chortling, Jiggy said, "Along with Taltli and Steg as well!! PARTY ON!!"

"PARTY ON!!" said Pee Cee and Harlow.

"Did youse hear that?" hissed Cara. "They would claim Jura anyway, even if we did give them Tsitra and Gie Bele."

"Just what my CTI senses verified," said Jessica. "Those Juddin devils were born double crossers."

"We've got to break up the play, here and now," said Gie Bele.

"Right said," said Tsitra.

With that, the group entered the building, the Juddins turning to them, Jiggy saying, "So, you've reached a decision on surrendering Taltli and Steg Garsus to me, right? After all, we've got payback time for the Vouivre's destruction, the arrest of my fellow Boogaloos as well as your tresspassing in my parlor of our operations."

"Can it you," said Hibiki. "We overheard your double crossing plans so all bets're off!! I want my wife back!!"

"YAP!! ("NO!!") roared Jiggy. "You can't tell the Juddins anything!! We're a law unto ourselves and to give up our piggy bank cougar here would defeat our plans so why don't you man up and suck it up and enjoy it?  
Smile!! You're dead!! As will the rest of you losers here. Just what makes you think you can play the game? And don't you have school tomorrow?"

"&^$#%* Balderonian hyenas," said Dita.

"It's the hot seat for you," said Misty.

"I dont care WHO it is, you will be gone," said Barnette.

"Just say the word. I have made grown men and women cry. It's child's play. Just try me," said Meia.

"What is wrong with you guys?" said Bart.

"Stuff like that just makes you look heartless," said Duero.

"Didn't your mom tell you crime wasn't a sutable trade?" said Parfet.

"Shame, shame on youse, U-PIG!!" said Cara.

"In case you forgot, pride comes before a downfall," said Tsitra.

"You were warned several times about badmouthing those that came you way--you didn't stop so we'll stop it for you. You're done here," said Gie Bele.

"You just as bad as those theater critics," said Gascogne.

"Give it up, Jiggy," said Vanna, "you're surrounded!!"

"And we've got out belt mounted anti CTI electrostatic jammers at the ready," said Xaan.

"You can't escape justice," said Jessica.

"Defeat awaits you," said Rael, "and so will it be with the conceited Brittany Pereira."

"And I said NO!!" yelled the evil, already livid Boogaloo leader. "I've got my job to protect, in the name of revenge, ever since I wiped out my parents years ago!! SO--you will have one choice to make: either stay here and play like a wimp and swallow your pride or pack up your toys and leave. I am dead %*#$^& serious-  
OR ELSE!!"

"And you'd best say 'Thank you' to my husband," said Pee Cee,  
"because he hates an ingrate."

"So you'd rather not give up those PSE wimps," said Harlow.  
"Seems like we've got a handful of serious &$^*#% retards."

"Tao," said Jiggy, a rue smile on his face. "Well, you may had jammed our CTI chi, but even so, we all do have a life and we spent it here to make little yobbos like you miserable. Now have a soda and a smile and S.T.H.O."

"S.T.H.O.?" said a suspicious Meia.

"Stay The Heck Out," replied the Boogaloo leader. "Wait, what am I saying?!? I've got a score to settle--so here's how I plan to do so, by planning to sic my new mecha pet on you stoopids." Lifting up his right hand, he directed his voice into a communicator strapped to his wrist, "Come forth, AFL-1-8400!!"

From the comm, came a phase shifter vocoderized voice, saying, "YES-MASTER," then suddenly, something huge--twelve feet high and eight feet wide--crashed through the skylight from overhead and landed in a spot between the Juddins and the Vandread crew, a half ton of destruction in the form of a red chromed Tatchikoma (from Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex) on steroids, because it was a twelve legged behemoth equipped with twelve appendages for every conciveable weapon, both offensive and defensive that Barnette and the rest could imagine, jet engines, antennae for thermo and radar tracking and sheild projecting and twelve camera eyes on its front. Overall, the giant machine almost looked like a steely exoskeleton. that was reminiscent of the Harvest machine drones.

"ETIVOBOR-CLASS-AFL-1-8400-REPORTING-FOR-DUTY," said the half ton machine.

"Wipe out those %#*$^& dissidents you see before you," ordered Jiggy, "and make it snappy!!"

"YES-MASTER," said the AFL-1-8400, as the LED border frames encasing its twelve camera eyes lit up with the color green, the assassin machine saying, "GREEN-YELLOW-  
RED. MY-FIREPOWER-CAN-BE-LETHAL-WHEN-RED."

That was all it took for the Vandread team and the Cornerstone Empire's group, as well as the CE's Bollix platoon that just arrived and from there the air was thick with the phaserbolts from the stolen PSE issue crossbows and the EQ-7 rifles, all blasting at the AFL-1-8400, who started blasting with its many weapons mounted on its mecha appendages--all of which would've wiped out the group, had not Vanna did a sweeping gesture with her hand, a hexagonal structured grid wall forming in front of the group-  
a CTI generated shild wich would protect them from the enemy firepower, but how long would it last? And even with them blasting at the half ton death machine, that was yet another problem with its own armor and sheilding. Right now, the color in the eyes now changed from green to yellow; if they changed to red, not even the sheild could stand a chance.

"No good," said Meia, "that armor and sheild is too strong."

"We've got to weaken it, make it tap into its own power cells to weaken the sheild,"  
said Hibiki.

"At the rate it's fighting back?" said Misty. "It's suicide!!"

"Never say die," said Gascogne. "The show ain't over till the last curtain."

"Did youse have to say 'die'?" said Cara.

"We'd best think of something and soon," said Vanna. "I don't know how long our sheild can last, especially since we're up against high grade Balderonian mecha."

"You're the strategy expert, poop-a-doop," said Barnette to Hibiki. "Got any bright ideas?"

"Maybe there is," said the Van pilot. "Vanna, your jammers, they're preventing those Boogaloos from using their CTI hocus pocus, right?"

"Yup," said the CE Empress. "As long as it's trained on those heathens, only we can use ours."

"Well let's take out that machine spider's eyes, then its sensors and antennae--that should render it wide open for trouble," said the hothead. "Dita, you got thoae smoke bombs and those Nirvana issue bombs?"

"I don't leave home without them," said the UFO otaku. "I love it when you come up with a plan!!"

"Whoopie doopie," said Gascogne. "Well, places for Act 2, we'll try Hibiki's idea; Dita, after we knock out the eyes, toss the smoke bomb, and as soon as we whump those anteenae,  
look for an open door in that machine spider for that bomb for an inside job."

"Which is just what I was thinking of," said the Van pilot.

"Well, let's do it, then!!" said Meia. "Punch its ticket, one and all!!"

"First time I fought a machine enemy without a Vandread," said Dita.

Traning their weapons on the AFL-1-8400, they shot a heavy salvo, till it seemed its sheilds were weakening, then one, then the rest of the death machine's eyes, right after they had a chance to change to red, exploded, along with its antennae, the mecha saying, "HEY-!! CUT-  
THAT-OUT!! THAT-IS-DIRTY-POOL!!" After that, Dita pulled the pin on a smoke bomb and yelled, "Fire in the hole!!" before tossing it a foot before the blinded death machine--and then it exploded, throwing the machine and the Juddins into confusion, just before the UFO otaku ran under the AFL-1-8400's underside and found a hatch which shot open, pushed a switch on the bomb, and tossed it in the hatch, running for cover; in 4 seconds, the explosion tore the machine from the inside, and it crashed on the cement floor, sparks flying from the inert steel hulk.

You can imagine the surprise and shock from Jiggy when the smoke cleared and he saw his mecha pet demolished from within and saying in a labored weakening voice, "THEY-GOT-ME-MASTER!  
NOTIFY-MY-NEXT-OF-KIN-STARTING-WITH-MY-CIGARETTE-VENDING-MACHINE-GIRLFRIEND!  
ME-WHY-ME?" Then the AFL-1-8400 blew up in pieces, scattering its parts all over the place.

"It's gone.......," moaned Jiggy in anguish. "my pet's gone...."

"They're going to pay for that," said Pee Cee Bee.

"Don't they know how much that mecha cost?" said Harlow.

"BRAAAAAAAP!! POO!! POO!!" chorused the Vandread team, before they linked arms and marched in a circle, chanting sing songy on the order of Ring Around A Rosy: "Ring around a rosy, you ain't safe, nor cozy, we're goin' to break your nosy, ring around a rosy, you ain't safe, nor cozy, we're goin' to break your nosy, ring around a rosy, you ain't safe, nor cozy, we're goin' to break your nosy, ring around a rosy, you ain't safe, nor cozy, we're goin' to break your nosy."

But what the Juddins didn't count on was that they were so absorbed in the battle twixt the AFL-1-8400 and Gascogne & Co, as well as the said group taunting the Balderonian criminals,  
that they weren't paying attention to Jura, who remembered that a diamond could cut through anything, used her diamond wedding ring to cut through the conwebbing ribbon, then cut the ribbon that bound her wrists behind her on the sharp edge on the post she had been bound on; once her wrists were loose, she used her ring to cut the binding on her ankles, and was free, running for behind the crates nearby.

Right now, an extremely livid Jiggy growled at the group, "YOU stoopid yobbo $^&*#% halfwits!!!! You're dead, you sons and daughters of bastards, we're going to get you!! If we can't have our cougar, no one will!  
She will die!!"

"Let's blast her dead!!" said Pee Cee Bee.

"Fill her full of holes, like a Swiss cheese!!" said Harlow.

But when the last of the Boogaloos turned to where their captive was, they were taken aback when they saw that Jura was gorne, and so were the Vandread crew and The Cornerstone Empire court and their Bollix troops,  
the Boogaloo leader saying, "She's gone!! It's impossible!! That was taut steel conwebbing ribbon!! Pee Cee Bee,  
you blew it again!! You used cruddy ribbon!! I told you not to buy that shoddy material in Foothill!!"

"Knock it off, you!!" shot back Pee Cee, "you can't win them all!!"

While the Juddins argued, Jura had sneaked out from behind a stack of boxes near where Meia was and said, "Sst!! Sorry I was late."

"Jura!!" hissed Meia. "We just saw you back there, bound to that post!! Anyhow, I knew even those Boogaloo devils couln't come up with something that could restrain you."

"Just proves you can't keep a good diva down," said Hibiki.

Handing the Dread diva a stolen PSE issue crossbow, Dita said, "Did you lose something? Here."

"'Bout time," said the blonde. "First some payback time to those Juddins for taking the wrong hostage."

"You ain't planning to shoot them dead?!?" said Misty.

"No, let's just say I'll use a mild blast right on the rump roast," said Jura, who set the firepower intensity of her crossbow to 21% mild, then aimed at Jiggy's butt and blasted a bolt that set the evil crime leader jumping up and shouting, "!!!!!!! UUUUU!  
URRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Then the Dread diva shot Pee Cee Bee's butt, and blasted Harlow's as well, till all criminals were howling, jumping and scraping their smoking posteriors on the cement floor to put out the blaze, having been taken by surprise.

"Now that is what I call smokin' buns," said Gascogne. "Well, let's scram so Vanna's bunch can arrest those no good Boogaloos."

"Not so fast, all you sods!!" said a new voice--a voice belonging to the Empress Brittany, who, along with an Emerald Guard militia, were above everyone on the surrounding catwalks in the building, their crossbows all aimed at all--the Juddins, the Vandread crew and The Cornerstone Empire's court and their Bollix platoon-- below.

Having finished with stopping the burning, the Juddins got on their feet and Jiggy called up to the PSE ruler,  
"Ah, there's the so called ruler that sent those women of yours to close down my parlor work!! You an Empress of that so called ^&$%#* pony wagon Pereira Star Empire? Don't make me laugh--because if you wanna be an Empress, expect to get crowned!! BWAH!! HAH!! HAH!! HAH!! HAH!!"

"But you forget it was The Cornerstone Empire that saved me the trouble by jamming your CTI chi flux," said Pereira. "You claim to be tough, then prove it, now that we leaders finally meet. Or is it that you're all what Americans call wussies?"

"You.....drunken punk.....fume........," muttered Jiggy.

"Grumble, grumble, grumble, grumble..........stupid fathead Pereira Star Empire," said Pee Cee.

"No one calls us wussies," said Harlow.

"You're goin' down," said a furious Jiggy, "you *%#$^& maudlin, kissy-pooh, feel-good, touchy-feely wimps!!"

So saying, the Juddins aimed their rifles up at the Empress and blast heavy gauge phaserbolts at her, only for the said blots to be deflected by Brittany's sheild which covered not only the evil PSE ruler but also her Emerald Guard battalion, the bolts ricocheting off in diferent directions.

"Rogg zaar.......?!?" ("What the.......?!?") said Jiggy in increasing fear.

"Can't do any better?" said Pereira. "I thought so. They say fools rush in and that you should look before you leap.  
I am NO baby sitter, I gave you all the same kind of warning, so it's shameful that none of you have followed it. So lick, lick, suck, suck, grovel, grovel, lick, suck, grovel, oil, oil, oil to you all--if you can't take the heat, stay out from the kitchen!!"

With a sweeping gesture of her hand, Brittany summoned four fireballs in crystal spheres the size of basketballs and they rotated in the air in a square pattern, to the puzzlement of all here, especually the Juddins, who could only scratch their heads in confusion--until the flame globes vanished, and in their place was a black globe that shot out two jets of flame, spinning like a water sprinkler--and one of those jets charred down to dust in a snap of a finger, a careless Harlow.

"HARLOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" yelled Jiggy. "YAAAAAAAAP!!!!!!!!"

"Extra crispy for that smoky fragrence," said Pereira.

"YOU &*###*%$^ STOOPID SEXWIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" insanely roared Jiggy. "I'll rip you lungs out for sure!!!!"

"Wouldn't that be shocking?" said the Empress, who gestured agaign, only there were five crystal globes, each with a lightning bolt in each one, arranged in a pentagon pattern, rotating as before; Jiggy and Pee Cee tried the blast the spheres but to no avail.......then the globes vanished--and a thick cololum of ligtning came dowm from above, hitting Pee Cee Bee of a billion volts, till all that remained of her was a smoking pile of ashes.

"Lightning just struck twice in the same place," said the PSE ruler.

Jiggy, for his part sank to the floor, bawling his head off; once the most strongest crime lord on Balderon, he was now a sniveling coward, realizing for the first time, he was powerless against a sorceress for an Empress--an Empress who now said, "That time's come to take a stab at your last end, so say sayonara to..............all that, and konichiwa to oblivion."

Realizing what he was up against, Jiggy turned and ran, just as Brittany gestured, summoning six globes, a dagger in each one, arranged in a hexagon pattern, and even as it spun, Jiggy ran as fast as he could, but just as he was two yards from that, gone were the globes, and a ring of daggers exploded outward, the blades impaling the crime leader in all twelve of his hearts, blood spraying everywhere--and he fell down in the center of the floor dead.

"Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da--DEAD MAN!!" said the PSE ruler. "Your people may had been advanced in magic and technology, but you still can't match my unique prowess."

"What an exit," said Hibiki, "and it serves those them right--may they burn in hell for all the rotten stuff they did!!"

"Like a dart board," said Misty.

"Guess it's the end of The Electric Boogaloos," said Meia.

"Never again will they be a threat to Balderon," said Rael.

"Nor to me and Tsitra, after haunting our memories," said Gie Bele.

"May they rest in peace," said Tsitra.

"All the same," said Vanna, "we'll pray for their souls......."

"........and hope they repented at the last moment......," said Xaan.

"....and if not for them, then for someone else more worthy," said Jessica.

"Anyhoo," said Cara, "the worst is over."

"Not quite," said Gascogne. "As you can see, we're standing in the PSE kangaroo court presided by the Empress, as if you didn't know."

"Quite right," said Pereira, "and as you can see, Jovian justice can be unexpected when it comes to a handful of traitors in your midst." To her Emerald Guard, she said, "Shoot em' down!! Shoot em' all down!!"

What happened next was a shoot out the end all shoot outs, till the next big one; for now, each side threw up it's own magic generated sheild and were blasting till the air was thick with heavy firepower from both ally and enemy, the Vandread and Cornerstone Empire crew hiding from behind crates for extra protection.

"It's getting to be intense!!" said Dita.

"They've got us pinned down," said Mallory.

"How long can we hold up that sheild?" said Jessica. "Something's got to give sooner or later."

"If anyone's got any better ideas," said Gascogne, "now's the time."

"Just maybe," said Vanna. "All of you switch off your electro static jammers just to be safe. Then we'll weaken them a bit with our CTI mind scramble flux. Jammers off? OK, let's do it!!"

With a gesture of each hand, Vanna and her court sent out a mind numbing effect that caused the PSE ruler and her Emerald Guard staggered, moaning as they tried to hang on to the catwalk railing without falling over, Brittany especially since the effect was also making it hard to maintain her magic sheild as she said, "Stop........!! Don't foul up my plans!  
You Balderonians don't fight fair.....!!"

With the PSE Empress' sheild weakening, the group fanned out into the center of the wherehouse, the group taking out some of the enemy with some stun shots, the others fleeing in fear despite their groggy state, Pereira calling out, "Come back here, you cowards!! Blast those *%#$^& Balderonians using their CTI rubbish on me!!"

"Let's weaken the stragglers running off," said Hibiki, who shot at one of the small beams over the catwalk, causing in to fall, nd pinning down some of the Emerald Guard; soon, everyone followed that example, including Misty, who shot loose a light fixture which fell on top of the evil Empressw, who lost control of her magic, and her sheild faded, with 50 percent of her Emerald Guard fleeing and 50 percent of her said minions stunned on the catwalk, stopping the fight, before Vanna and her court stopped their shieild.

"What a bargin," said Meia, "we not only got much of The Emerald Guard, we also got their fearless leader."

"But even if we got her," said Jura, "we could never keep her, when it comes to her sorceress power."

"No worries," said Gascogne, "we'll grab her pendant and that should stop Ms. Pereira in her tracks."

"All we got to do," said Xaan, "is get to her and that pendant before she recovers, then trap her in the special maxinum security cell."

"We'd best hurry," said Tsitra.

"Good riddence to bad Empresses," said Hibiki, "especially those that call people L7 sods."

But even as Gascogne was on her way to the stairs to the catwalk, the PSE ruler had recovered and looking down from where she was, saw Misty, who had caused that light housing to fall on her, Misty, the traitor that triple crossed her and took off with the equally traitorus Tsitra and Gie Bele--such was the time to even the score now that the Empress had right where she wanted her, so getting up and out from the wreckage, she clenched her fists, generating green lightning bolts in her fists, saying, "Summon Electro Bolt Javelins..........time to settle the score with one of the traitors that gave my Empire a bad name....sweet dreams, traitor--NOT!! Good night, sweet princess."

Just as Gascogne was halfway up the stairs, Jura, who had finished cleaning up the mess, saw what Brittany was doing, as the PSE ruler held up the twin electric crystalline green javelins up abover her head, read to cast them down on Misty, realized her friend was in danger, and ran to her, calling out, "MISTY!! WATCH OUT!!"

At the same moment the Dread diva started to run, Pereira hurled down the bolts, in a hissing, flanged phase shifting way, the cresendo of horns, synth and bass guitar in the cresendo part of Deodato's version of Moonlight Serenade, before the electric piano finish playing, everyone gradually discovering what was happening, as the blonde ran to Misty and pushed her out from the path of the lethal bolts-  
--only to be hit by them in the process, taking the electric javelins in Misty's place, the bolts hitting through the back, through Jura's heart and fragmenting it and making a fist sized hole at the front, starting with a BANGBANGBANG!!!! and, making a C~R~R~R~R~R~R~R~A~A~A~A~A~A~A~C~C~C~C~C~C~C~K~K~K~K~K~K~K!!!! as the bolts stabbed her in the heart, before the wound spurted blood as the javelins turned into a web of electric bolts that surged through the blonde's now convulsing body as she screamed in the most agonizing way till the web faded, and the Dread diva's smoking body slumped and fell to the floor, never to rise again, to the horror of the group--The Cornerstone Empire, the Vandread team and especially Cara, Tsitra, Dita, Misty and Hibiki, who muttered in disbelief, "Jura.......!! No, that can't be happening!!"

For Gascogne, she had reached the top of the stairs and was four yards from the PSE ruler, and upon seeing her enemy throw down the bolts that hit the mark, she knew she had come too late. In short, the evil Empress had gone too far--Jura was dead!! Murdered!!

"Oh my gosh, no!!" said Dita.

"Jura!! Why'd you have to be so brave?!?" said Misty.

"Jura.........you gave your life for Misty," said Gie Bele.

Brittany, you devil.....!!" said Gascogne.

"Lord, have mercy!!" said Vanna.

"Poor Jura....!!" said Xaan.

"No, not Jura, please not her!!" said Meia.

"My best friend................gone!!" said Tsitra.

"Alas, poor Jura, I knew her well!!" said Cara.

"Brittany, GET LOST!!!!" said Jessica.

"Sorry, Jura....I wish we had known what you had in mind sooner.....," said Bart.

"We'll miss you, Jura......so much," said Parfet.

"That was a brave thing you did," said Duero.

"You were a good friend, and I love you," said Barnette.

"I love you too, Jura," said Hibiki, his voice clogged with thick emotion before shouting with unbridaled rage at the puzzled Empress Brittany, "YOU #%*&^$!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU'VE GONE WAY TOO FAR TODAY!  
YOU HEAR?!!!!? YOU'VE GONE ^&$*#% TOO FAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"It wasn't my fault," shot back the PSE ruler, "she got in the way when those bloody bolts were meant for that other traitor Misty!! No matter, it doesn't matter which traitor I finish off, since I was bound to get to that so called Ace Of Aces anyway--just resort to a process of elimination. In any case, it's time to head to La Placa, where soon a new power will dominate the universe."

"You just don't get it, do you?" said Meia, who was trying to stay calm despite her tears. "Jura is gone. She had a chance to be happy at last, and you and those Boogaloos took it away. She not only was married at last to a guy like Hibiki and was pregnant, in the hopes of having her dream baby, and now, her dreams got dashed for good. How disillusioning is that?"

Cold as ice, with no regrets (which was common for despots) that she murdered a woman that meant no harm, Pereira stated, "If she dies, she dies. People die sooner or later, don't you know?"

Hibiki, who had been cradling Jura despite the blood, had been shaking in tears, sorrow and rage now looked up and glowered at the evil Empress, shouting, "You got no idea what you did!! We were looking foward to something that would lift our spirits high!! But NO!! You had to butt in, just because YOU lusted for the desire to wipe out Misty!! Well, Misty or Jura, what you just did is downright rotten, got that?!!? THAT WAS ^&$*#% ROT-TEN!!!!"

"Just watch your back, if not your mouth, tongue and v chords," warned the Empress. "To pull back you defenses before I strike is like drinking pool water with all those chemicals." And with one hand gesture, she engulfed herself and what reamianed of her stunned Emerald Guard troops in green spheres of light, enanbling them to float up and out from the skylight, and up in the sky, flying out to who knows where--and that was when Jura, her breath getting increasingly weaker, said, "It's my fault.....forgive me, Misty.....I shouldn't had pushed you out and hit in your place....."

"No, it's not," said Misty, "you did a brave thing in laying down your life for me, proving you did care fore me......"

"Try to stay still," said Duero, "we'll get you to a hospital."

"Impossible," said the Dread diva, "my heart's already fragmented up so badly......Meia, look for someone to take over my Dread......to keep the spirt of Vandread forging ahead.....and tell Paiway I'll be unable to see her grow up. Barnette,  
thanks for helping me through the best and the worst of times, Gascogne, tell you cast to strive in keeping the stage alive in my memory, Bart, you and Tsitra help each other--thanks for helping me be a friend when I saved you long ago."

"Thanks for coming in my life," said Tsitra.

Cara........you were my best friend, thanks for everything," added the Dread diva.

"I won't forget youse," said a weeping Cara.

"Dita," said Jura, "sorry for all the times I ticked you off."

"I forgive you," said the UFO otaku.

"Duero, Parfet, everyone, I hope you make it to earth someday.......," breathed the blonde, who now turned to Hibiki and added, "I would've liked to have seen Toronto......and Tokyo.........I truly did love you for real and not as a babymaker.....I love you as much as my soul allows it to be......" Taking the Van pilot's hand, she took off her wedding ring and gave it to the hothead, saying, "Here.....take my ring to remember me..........and our legit love we had.........if only I had a chance to have my baby.......we could've named it Dita--or was it Meia, Barnette, Cara or even Misty? No matter; you think of me sometimes and forgive me for all the crummy stuff I did to you since the incaption of the pirates."

After reaching up to Hibiki for one last kiss, Jura said, her voice fading, "Dita, look after your brother for me.......Hibiki Tokai, I love you........." Then:"Forgive me, Father, I have sinned. I pray in Jesus' name to repent for.....allll my .....sins.  
and be forgiven........in your name.........have mercy on me, a sinner......amen........."

With those words, there was sound of a death rattle in the blonde's breath, before she slumped, her head falling back,  
now deceased, in the cradled hold of an angst torn Hibiki, who was shaking in sorrow and rage, much of the women crying quietly, as Meia got up, and said somewhat bitterly to Hibiki, "THAT is how I define unwarranted,"

One those words, the head Dread pilot, burst into tears, crying as she ran out the building, the other women following suit.

After Duero placed Jura in a body bag, he submitted it to the Dredge morgue and after the processing, the body was,  
at Barnette's request, creamated and poured in a silver cylendrical canister and buried in the same garden where the wedding had taken place; again, a weeping Father Juliano presided over the funeral, the Vandread and Nirvana crew as well as The Cornerstone Empire presiding and bawling their eyes out--all but Hibiki who was in way too much grief to cry--all he could do was stare at the black onyx grave which said in Japanese and english:  
IN LOVING MEMORY

JURA BASIL ELDEN TOKAI

A WIFE, A DREAD PILOT, A WAR BUDDY, A COMRADE,  
A TRUE FRIEND.

As was with the funerals for B.C. and Magno, the crowd just simply went back to their hostels and hotels, with no meeting place, no after funeral gathering; only Hibiki stayed at the grave, staring at it as The Beatles' The Long And Winding Road played in his mind as his said mind went throungh a mental retrospective of his memories with Jura.  
after that, he said weakly, "I can't believe she's gone," before departing..........

The Vandread crew once again triumphed over the PSE..............but at what a cost........was it all worth it? Was a bittersweet victory worth fighting for? Could Jura had avoided those javelin bolts while trying to save Misty?  
For that matter, could anything, even anyone, make everything all right again? Like the Empress Brittany had said,  
people die sooner or later............I just wish the PSE ruler hadn't been so callus what she said, "If she dies, she dies,"  
but who's willing to reason with an ageless insane-in-the-membrane Empress who's also a sorceress? At least Ms.  
Pereira did The Cornerstone Empire a favor by getting rid of Jiggy Jiggy Juddin and his wife and sister, ending their evil ways forever. With them and their Electric Boogaloos out of the picture, Balderon can somewhat rest easy, or something like that.  
--a440.

Next: Chapter 21: Do You Have A Comrade? 


	22. Do You Have A Comrade?

Once again, discoveries and losses and discoveries of losses. Not the sort of thing to look foward to, but then, there were some anime in which the whole cast got wiped out. Not a pleasant thought, and it takes time to recover. Bart was lucky when he recovered after Shirley's death in The Second Stage.  
--a440.

CHAPTER 21: DO YOU HAVE A COMRADE?

In the aftermath of Jura's death, the old apartment was sold for sale or to let and much of the old furniture and such was sold to what could be called an intergalactic version of a thrift store. So far, much of the Nirvana crew had gone back to their ship with only the core members, of the Vandread team, the General and the Major remaining, now that Vanna and her court went back to the Synthesis.

In fact, before Duero had placed Jura in the body bag, the Blue Pyxis fragment that had been in the Dread diva's body flew out and zapped into Tsitra, her body glowing for the moment, then stopped; which meant the former PSE General had become the successor to Vandread Jura and its name sake in effect, as we would see, Tsitra saying,  
"Incredible.......then a piece of my old friend is with me....she and I have become one....."

Now, in the empty apartment, Hibiki sat on the floor, the blonde's wedding ring that he had taken before she died in his hand, in total melencholy, his MP3 player playing Cinderella's Don't Know What You Got Till It's Gone and tears, for the second time in his life forming. And for the first time, he was feeling great regret over not having gotten to know the women, especially the now late Dread diva sooner when he had the chance, regretting the times he had avoided her, for having avoided her advances, not appriciating what he had then, wishing, even if it meant ticking Dita off at the time, he had paid more attention to her then, but mostly, for not saving her in time, at least getting her safe before the Empress Brittany and her PSE Emerald Guard came. But then, it wouldn't had made any difference--be it Jiggy and his Boogaloos or the PSE, either would've ended Jura's life if they had their way.

"Jura," the Van pilot said weakly in a voice full of sorrow, "if I would've known what would happen to you, I would've given you a baby to make your dreams come true.......! Forgive me.............."

At that point, Meia entered the apartment and was behind the hothead, kneeling from behind before saying, "I reckon Jura does forgive you, in spirit anyway."

"It happened so fast," said Hibiki, clenching his fist, his rage growing."I should've paid attention..................but what hurts is that I treated her poorly for too long, should've given her a baby, had I known what would happen.........I sold her life for my carelessness,  
I wish I had been nicer to her then....."

"If anyone's to blame," it's me," said the head Dread pilot, who wrapped her arms 'round the hothead, cradling his head on her shoulder. "As head of the Dread squadron, combat losses were my responsibility............I should've kept an eye on Jura, could've warned her of the danger abover her, but it all happened so fast, had no time to react.......Jura....  
was a battle sister to me, and to lose a comrade..........it's like losing a war buddy......I'll never get over losing Jura...."

"Me neither," said Hibiki, "and I'll NEVER forgive................that ^&$#%* PSE Empress....  
I just don't know what Jura was thinking of when she ran out to push Misty from the path of those green bolts.......and now, we'll never know......that Brittany Pereira and her Empire brainwashed countless weak minded women to form her Empire, created The Harvest,  
started the Taarak/Mejere war, stole The Green Pyxis for her unholy task, had Misty as a spy,  
tried to build a base to terrorize the Balderonians, is planning to build a deadly weapon, tried to subject General Steg Garsus to pihranas when she was a child, is intent on launching a jihad--a holy war--on the galaxy, tried to wipe out Dredge and worst of all, killed Jura, with intent to murder Misty on her mind.......she's gone too far, that %*#$^& Pereira's gone ^$&%*# TOO FAR!"

On those last words, the Van pilot, for the second time, wound up bawling his head off, crying like a baby waking up from a nightmare, his face buried in Meia's breastplate, weeping away, as the head Dread pilot held the hothead close, rocking gently.

"Why?" howled Hibiki through his tears. "Why did Jura have to die? Why was she taken?  
I loved her.......maybe not then, so long ago, but I do, now.........!"

"I loved her like a sister," murmured Meia."It's not the first time we lost a comrade, long before you came in our lives, but Jura's topped them all. She was vain, but she's a heroine just the same....!"

"That she was," said a glum Gascogne, who had just enertered, adding, "and as the head of the Nirvana crew, it should be pointed out that combat losses were MY responsibility, not yours,  
Meia. I told Jura to say goodby to her friends in Sector 27, but how was I to know Jiggy and his bunch were in the same building? I led the charge against my old enemy, and Jura did what she thought was right, by saving Misty."

"But Ms. Pereira meant to stab Misty," said Hibiki, "and Jura got in the way, and died in Misty's place............."

"Jura and I will be with you always," said a new voice, which took all by surprise, for it belonged to a glowing etheral image of a spectral version of Magno Vivian, now standing a foot or so from the trio; Hibiki stuck out his hand, saying, "I thought you were dead.........my hand passed right through you....!" as his hand stuck through the specter.

"I am in spirit with you, no matter what, Hibiki," assured the boss. "True, Jura's death was, and remains, a tragedy felt by all, but it should be pointed out, it was her time, according to God's will, but at least she repented for her sins, as I did, so that helps........Meia, Gascogne, don't blame yourselves for what happened......it was fate, that loss of life can be mourned, but only if the life was wasted........thankfully, Jura's wasn't."

"Wasn't...............?" said Hibiki.

"Wasn't," said Vivian. "LIke Meia said, the Empress Brittany meant to originally murder Misty,  
but Jura got in the way and died in Misty's place. Can't you see? Jura wasn't meant to die--  
it was Misty that the Empress wanted to assassinate from the start, and inasmuch as it was an unjust thing what Pereira did, because you and Jura were meant for each other, it was a brave thing she did--giving up her life for Misty's. Perhaps you remember what Jesus once said: 'There is no greater love that one gives up his/her life for his/her friends.' And Jura did just that, proving her death wasn't in vain. Someday, I promise you all, that if you make it to heaven, you will all be reunited with Jura in spirit......someday......."

No sooner had she said that, the specter of Magno faded from sight, the trio, in amazement, as if they had seen a revelation, the tears drying away from Hibiki and Meia and Gascogne agog at what they had seen, before the new Dread captain said, "Let's go."

With Barnette and Cara using the tractor beams in their Dreads to tow Tsitra's Diamante to the Nirvana and place it in the ship's hangar, the General flew her Dread that had been Jura's,  
as the rest followed in their own respective craft; along the way, the Blue Pyxis shot out a new blast of light, engulfing and again, crystallizing the ships and their crew, before the crystal surface broke away, revealing Dread Jura, in its, new form, Dread Tsitra, which looked just like Jura's old Dread, but with a gloss gold color, instead of a red color, before everyone were all onboard their ship.

From there, the Vandread team got ready with their supplies for the long mission in La Placa,  
donning winter wear, getting food and supplies, even refueling their ships with Pertaline which The Cornerstone Empire shared with their new found friends, much of the team, collecting what they would need from their suites, with little to suggest that it would be the last time they would be in their suites, much less see the Nirvana after that....

With Tsitra piloting Jura's Dread in one last tribute to her fallen comrade, the General was ready to make her Dread pilot debut as she and Gie Bele, in her own Diamante, were ready to join with the Dreads and Hibiki's Van to form the first post Jura Vandread team, as Gascogne's ship, with Bart and Duero at the G-gal's side, led the group, back to Ganymede, and to the ice landscape and town of La Placa.

"From what we heard, " said Meia, "the base city of Rubicon is 7 miles from the small town of LaPlaca, so we'll start at the small town so we can get a way of land before we stake out a bivouac on the outskirts of Rubicon, prior to infiltrating it so we can get in the weapon base."

"Just what I was thinking of," said Gascogne. "Once we get to LaPlaca, we'll switch to snowboards to traverse the landscape, after all, Britt's bunch may be on guard against our Dreads, and stuff."

"Like a snowboard supercross," said Hibiki thickly, trancelike. "Mach schau, mach schau...."

"Hey, poop-a-doop," said Barnette, "come back to reality. You haven't been the same since the Dredge fiasco."

"Still in your bereaved widowed fuge state?" said Misty.

"What?" said the hothead. "Sorry, guess it's goin' to take time to recover from losing Jura."

"Who wouldn't?" said Gie Bele.

Ahead was the town of La Placa, named after the ice floe nation--a cluster of igloos of variable sizes, shapes and forms, with antennae and dishes, lights and chimneys, no doubt with fireplaces when it came to the cold Ganymede polar locale. In any case, the team landed a yard from the town, on its outskirts, before the group dismounted, standing before the main entrance to the town.

"What do you think, group?" said Gascogne.

"Almost like the North Pole," said Dita. "All we need is a Santa Claus."

"That would be a fitting place for a cold souled bastard like Ms. Pereira,"  
said Misty.

"Forboding," said Meia, "but with a touch of homeyness in those lit up igloos."

"BRRRRRRR!" said Hibiki. "Now THAT is what I call COLD!"

"A logical way of putting it, given the fact me and Gie Bele spent our tours of duty here," said Tsitra.

"Don't remind me, huh?" said Gie Bele.

"I've seen colder places before, y' know?" said Cara.

"Looks peaceful, all the same," said Barnette.

"Reminds me of an old polar gulag on Taarak," said Bart.

"I remember that place," said Duero. "It was the pits,  
with all the drafty walls and plexiglass toilets."

"Well, chin up, suck in that gut and eat-a too much-a pasta, and let's get trucking," said Gascogne.  
"Forward."

And foward they went, singing, "Oh, we owe, we owe her,"  
as the group walked up to the entrance, and into the town, reminescent of the Alaska gold towns, only with igloos,  
Nearby, was the Altamira Hostel, which seemed to be a popular place, because it was swarming with first rate people. Then, the group passed several more buildings such as a steakhouse, a disco and several suburbs, before they came to a roadhouse named The Ice Age House and set before a table where Gascogne ordered cheese pizza for all.

"Yo," said Cara, "I thought we was heading out to Rubicon."

"We will," said Gascogne, "but it ain't no crime to take a pit stop before getting our matinee started."

"Besides," said Hibiki, who was wolfing down his first slice, "you can't deal with those PSE punks on an empty stomach."

After the meal, the pack set out till they were on the town outskirts, near the edge of a long slope that lead to a vast tree lined crossroads.

"OK, group," said Gascogne, "let's get on our snowboards and ride the rest of our journey to Rubicon, so let's stick together, don't get lost, keep an eye out and don't get stuck."

With that in mind, everyone got on their snowboards, which had been supplied to them prior to taking off from the Nirvana, by the crew's quartermistress.  
That finished, they each, went down the slope, one by one, yet staying in near proximity with each other four yards apart, with Gascogne leading, followed by Tsitra, who would be her right hand woman, Gie Bele, Bart, Duero, Hibiki,  
Meia, Misty, Dita, Cara and Barnette--all down hill snowboarding, doing tricks and jumps to traverse several wooded passages, up and down some snowy roads and hills, over ice floes surrounded by hot springs, through canyons covered with snow and ice, through howling winds with snowblinding snow, over wide snow plains which had falling snow now and then and through tunnels of ice, icicles and frozen stalagmites and stalactites, jumping up hills and making, for Hibiki, exhilirating jumps and flight like tricks in the air,  
prompting the hothead to do some "Woo, woo, woo, woo, woooooo!"  
noises, a la Curly Howard of The Three Stooges.

At last the group came to a stop before billions of acres of snow landscape at the upper end of La Placa-- the sprawling for twelve city blocks Gothic turreted city of Rubicon, which had castle like tower skyscrapers, fort emplacements with anti surface and anti air weapons, and onyx colored block walls 40 feet high, surrounding the city which was the size of San Antonio, with thick steel gates 21 feet high, and all under heavy guard.  
In the center of the heavily populated PSE personnel populated city,  
on a 413 foot wide square base of black marble, was a green crystalline pyramid standing 120 feet high--The Apocalypse Engine. Nearby, at the west and east sections of the outside walls of the city, were two PSE carriers parked on the outskirts for supplies and repairs, and one of them was no doubt the newly repaired Hohenzollern.

"There it is," said Gie Bele, "our main capital city, Rubicon, which is the heart of the Empire--only Imperial personnel can live here, so we needn't worry over hurting any bystanders here in the process."

"Aside from our island base on Bele Kreuz, which is our home away from home," said Tsitra, " and our base known as Neo Hieronymous on the Earth, Rubicon is the heart of the Empire. We'd best hide benind that hill ridge up ahead so that the city's thermo tracking doesn't detect our body heat blooms."

From out of nowhere, ahead of the group, a hooded Vanna came out of nowhere saying, "You made it! We just got settled ahead, using our stealth fold generator to conceal our bivouac, so we can prepare the next step on taking out the city."

"I get it," said Gascogne, "you and your Cornerstone Empire bunch is hidden in invisability, ready to divert the PSE, while we infiltrate the city and into the weapon base, right?"

"Right the first time," said the CE Empress. "Hidden in our stealth fold is a legion of our finest Bollix army, ready to use our stun bolts, our CTI mind scrambler, our methods in blasting out their weapons but not the enemy, which should divert the enemy. All we need to do is for you Vandreaders to get into the city, then we'll storm Rubicon, and take out its garrison to make your escape easier"

"Already ahead on that," said Tsitra. "At the base of the ridge which Rubicon overlooks, is a grill that leads into a sewer tunnel that leads right up to The Apocalypse Engine's building--and its outside intake tunnel louvered grill to its cooling system; we just look for a service hatch that should lead directly into the weapon's central works."

"From there," said Gie Bele, "we can set the bombs on the weapon's weak point--the twelve cryogenic plants' buffer circuits. After that,  
the Engine's finished."

"A pincer move, eh?" said Gascogne. "It just might work. Well, curtain's going up--let's get started and give them the zero hour." To Vanna, she added, "For all our sakes, don't be late."

"Never underestimate The Conerstone Empire," assured the CE Empress.  
"Just get in there and take out that weapon before that Empress Pereira wipes out whatever comes her way."

"OK, stupids," said Gascogne, "you heard the V gal, let's get our butts in action and get to that weapon and those PSE cock-a-roaches. Tsitra,  
you and Gie Bele lead on to that passage into the city."

"Understood," said the General, who, along with the Major, led the Vandread team to the bottom most base of the ridge ahead, below,  
where set in one side of the snow, was a twelve foot high square steel grill which the General and the Major wasted no time in using their crossbows to blast loose a section of the grill, before leading the group inside to the tunnel, Gie Bele saying, "The tunnel's for the sewer systen that should lead right up to the center of the city--and the Apocalypse Engine building."

Inside, the group found themselves, in a long block lined tunnel with green water, frozen in some spots, with slime and weed on the walls with ice as well, as they treked down into the ink black dim light of the tunnel.

Grimacing in disgust, Hibiki grumbled, "UGGH! I hate sewers a lot--they smell like poo gas!"

"More like Rabat's body odor!" said Misty. "Not to mention Utan's!"

Well hidden behind the shimmering stealth fold field was a vast array of Cornerstone Empire Mantas, tanks and other ships on standby, all under the Empress Vanna's direction, when her mom, Regional Govenor Mallory came up to her and said, "So far, we've been waiting for the Apocalypse Engine to start, but it's been hours."

"Patience," said Vanna. "We've got to give the Vandread team time to infiltrate the city, and besides, how can you surprise someone expecting to be surprised?"

"So what you're saying is we should start the first move?" said the govenor.

"Let's just say," replied the CE Empress, "that the zero hour is in fifteen minutes time--just don't kill anyone--not even the PSE personnel; we've got to get them out from the city before the Engine blows after Gascogne and Co. bomb those cryogenic plants."

But deep within the green pyramid structure of the central building, the Empress Brittany had other plans, where, deep inside the building was The Apocalypse Engine--a black steel pyramid machine surrounded by twelve two pronged exhaust stacked towers that had fiber optic like cables running from each of the towers to the black pyramid which had at the top, a crystalline pyramid (no doubt the weapon's energy projecter muzzle) below the ceiling roof hatch which was now opening to allow the crystal to glow green. At the base of the south side of the black pyramid, was The Green Pyxis connected to the said pyramid; nearby was a wide platform for all the controls which several of the PSE officers were working to prepare the weapon, and among them were Admiral Xaltocan Chimali and Rear Admiral Ilyo Eos, while stationed at a desk like panel, staring at several flat screens, and working her share of controls, was the PSE ruler.

"The last checkup is finished," said the Admiral, "and it seems we've got the making of the ultimate doomsday weapon at hand."

"And that.....," said the evil Empress, "......is as it should be, or words to that effect. Well, let's give our Apocalypse Engine its coming out party with a test drive."

"Which target should we test it out on, considering I should know better?" said the Rear Admiral.

"Let's pick an easy one," said Pereira, "the Nirvana--where's its location, by the by?"

Checking a nearby screen, an officer replied, "In Ganymede orbit, within grid coordinates 541/156, course 1-4-0, bearing 5000."

"At last...................," breathed Brittany, "fade out, Nirvana and your insignificant Vandread crew.......  
prepare the Engine."

At once, all over the many controls, officers adjusted setting, pushed buttons, threw stwitches and slid sliders and such; the roof top opened and the crystal section of the pryramid, mounted on a crystalline shaft went up and out from the open topside hatch, glowing a bright green. Green streaks of light streaked through several fiber optic cables from the now glowing, pulsing Green Pyxis, as well as the surrounding towers, which belched out green smoke, as the Empress typed in the targeting stats for the Nirvana into the computer keyboard, then when the blue ship was in its targeting sights, muttered, "I told you, you play with a rattlesnake, you get bit........."

The inside of Rubicon City was a jumble of white marble block houses and skyscrapers, a contrast to the green crystal pyramid and its black base, and it was from a manhole that the Vandread team emerged, near a louvered vent grill. So far, no one had noticed the arrival of the group with so many busy women and female hawkers peddling their wares, all PSE personnel.

"Here's the way into the intake tunnel," said Tsitra, "It should lead right into the central works of the weapon but we've got to be careful coming out the other side, as there may be Emerald Guard troops all over the interior."

"That I wouldn't doubt," said Hibiki, who glanced upward................and saw that glowing green pryamid sticking out from the top of the larger pyramid and blurted, "Let's go, we're almost outa time!"

"And soon," said Gascogne. "They must be seeking a target to test that giant pop gun."

As before, Tsitra and Gie Bele blasted open the grill and entered the 15 foot high corrugated steel tunnel, the Vandread crew following down the long dark passage...............

Even now, the evil Empress was hunkered over her central control ops section, the Nirvana lining up and locking on target within the diamond icon crosshairs, the word, READY onscreen, before the PSE ruler said, "Just desserts," then stabbed a big illuminated green triangle switch the size of her palm marked TRIGGER; all over the complex interior, there was pulsing green light as bars of green energy surged through the many crystal fiber optic cables connected to the belching towers............and then with a BA-RA-ROOM! a huge shaft of green light shot up and out from the glowing crystal pyramid and out into the night sky.

Deep down into the tunnel, the General and the Major led the Vandread team towards the central bowels, when there was a shaking and a rumble, Dita saying, "They must be taking out a whole mountain."

"Hang on!" said Gie Bele. "They're using the intake!"

"And the weapon!" added Tsitra.

Instantly, those roaring icy galeforce winds slammed down the tunnel, intent on tearing off the tunnel walls, the Vandread team, who clung to those walls like snails on a block wall, the wind from the outside making Meia feel as if she was in a steroids driven version of Chicago.

"YIPE!" called out Cara. "It's a twister, Auntie Em!"

Thankfully, the wind only lasted a minute and eight seconds, before it stopped, its noise fading in the tunnel as the team tried to recover from their wind tunnel trip.

"What a windbag," said Hibiki.

"And I say that can mean only one thing," said Gascogne, "that Ms. Pereira's using that Engine on something."

From their bivouac, the platoon of the Cornerstone Empire saw the green bolt that shot out from the black pyramid, one of the troops saying, "Your Illustrious, that blast came from The Apocalypse Engine! That thing's online!"

"I saw it," said Vanna. "Where's its heading?"

"Grid coordinates 541/156, course 1-4-0, bearing 5000," said one officer.

Shuddering, Mallory muttered, "The Nirvana's in that spot......"

"The poor souls on there don't stand a prayer," said Xaan.

Even now, Celtic, on the Nirvana bridge, saw the green beam, but before she and the others could report it, the blue Pyxis in the engine room started pulsating till it spread its blue light, spreading everywhere throughout the ship's interior, engulfing people, possessions, everything, till all that remained of the Nirvana was a useless empty shell--just before the green bolt hit it,  
resulting it the ship's destruction as it exploded in a blast of green light;  
after that, there was empty space where the Nirvana had been.......may she rest in peace..................

From their vantage point, based on what they saw in the sky, Vanna and her Empire saw the disasterous demise of the Nirvana, at first unable to believe what they saw.

"So much for the Nirvana," said General Jessica Per. "All those poor souls onboard lost because of Pereira's unholy weapon.......wait, out CTI senses detect their thoughts........."

"I sense it myself," said Vanna. "That Blue Pyxis saved them and their possesions, taking them across the snowscape........security risk or no security risk, we've got to alert the Vandread crew of what happened."

"Wouldn't the PSE be listening in on any transmissions?" said Mallory.

"It's a chance we've got to take," said CE Empress.

Alongside the tunnel, the Major and the General came to a square grill and opened it, leading the Vandread team out to the interior of the installation, near the base of the Engine, with some of the Emerald Guard troops above standing guard.

"Just great," muttered Barnette, "the joint's swarming with those Emerald Guard stormtroopers."  
Then to Hibiki, she added, "Any ideas, poop-a-doop?'

"Like you had to ask," grumbled the hothead. "With all that PSE firepower twixt our group an' those cryogenic plants, that would be the trick of the century. Maybe some kind of diversion....."

"But what kind?" said Meia.

As if in reply, from overhead came the sound of Officer Cici Kano saying, "Empress, we've got some cloaked something blasting our metropolis walls! At least 30 feet from the outskirts of Rubicon City,  
to the south!"

"Only The Cornerstone Empire," said Pereira, "could think of such a cowardly thing."

"What makes you an expert on what it could be?" said Admiral Chimali.

On the projected main screen, the Imperal personnel could see, coming out from the stealth fold field,  
thousands of CE Manta ships blasting away, with several torpeadoes and phasers, hitting the fort walls of Rubicon City.

"Any further questions?" said Brittany. "Let's aim The Apocalypse Engine on them."

Hearing all that Gascogne said, "Twelve cheers for Vanna's Empire, they're distracting the PSE bunch."

"I just hope," said Misty, "they don't get hit with that Engine themselves."

"For our sakes," said Meia, "I hope not myself."

"Then let's get started," said Dita.

"And soon," said Duero.

"Sorry B.P.," said Cara, "but after today, that weapon's goin' to blow, like it or not."

"That'll be cool, huh, huh, huh, huh, huh, huh, huh," said Bart.

So while the Empress Brittany and her staff were prepping up the weapon for its next target, Gascogne & Co.  
discreetly slipped past the distracted PSE shock troops, climbed the ladders up the side of each of the cryogenic plant towers then magneticlly attatched each set bomb on the side of each plant's buffer circuits, then started each timer before climbing down the ladder, and then sneaking off to where the main entrance was and from there Tsitran and Gie Bele used their crossbows to stun the PSE troops guarding the said entrance, inside and out, just as there was a second BA-RA-ROOOOM! from overhead.

"For all our sakes, Big V," muttered Hibiki, "don't be late."

When the Engie resumed its incinerating blast, the Manta fleet evaded the many blasts of green bolts, which lit up the gelid sky like a midnight sun, much of the Imperial troops, led by Brigidier General Rael Tobias distracting the PSE, while Vanna led a battalion of Bollix toorps, in addition to much of her court across the tundra, to a now gaping hole in the saide in the city walls, which had recently been blasted open by a CE plasma torpedo, entering the city which was swarming with packing PSE personnel, running to their posts in an effort to defend their capital;  
using their EQ-7s, set for stun, Vanna and her brigade stunned several of the staff till they reached the pyramid where there were twin sets of doors; setting their weapons for maxinum firepower, Vanna & Co. blasted open the doors and ran into a hallway leading into a cylindrical foyer--the installation's garrison, loaded with PSE troops, control panels, screens and desks.

"How'd you get in here?" demanded one of the enemy officers. "Where's your badges?"

"Badges?" said the CE Empress. "We don't need no stinkin' badges."

From there, Vanna's bunch set their rifles to stun and with them, their sheilds and their CTI mindjammers, konked out the PSE garrison staff before they could get the upper had, just as the Vandread team showed up, coming out from one of the doors.

"Was that fast 'nuff for you?" said the CE Empress.

"A winning performance in every act," said Gascogne. "It's a miracle Ms. Pereira didn't know we were here, having been bent on her unholy work."

"Well here's a big news flash," said Xaan. "Remember that first blast from that Engine when the Empress used it? It struck your Nirvana in one blow--BARROOM!"

"The Nirvana........?" breathed Meia. "Gone........?"

"Brittany, that %*#$^&.....," said Hibiki.

"She's gone too far!" said Gascogne.

"Our friends onboard, gone!" wept Dita.

Instantly Vanna related to the team what happened, and how the Blue Pyxis intervened and saved the Nirvana crew, along with all possessions, then took off for parts unknown before the ship's destruction.

"One thing's for sure," finished Jessica, "at least your allies may be in a safe place."

"But the fact is," said Cara, "we've lost our only transport to Earth, we'll be stuck here!"

"Even worse," said Misty, "losing the Nivana was like losing a friend, an old friend."

"Fret not," said Mallory, "we'll think of something, right now, let's hurry before we get hit with the weapon when it explodes."

The group ran out, through the streets and outside the fortress, each Vandread team member mourning the loss of the Nirvana, the ship that had won the crew their victory over the war with The Harvest. Now, without a ship, a capital ship at that, to own, the team felt so lost;  
the Nirvana has weathered through the worst of everything The Harvest could throw at and now even that ship was no match for the destructive power of the PSE's Apocalypse Engine--  
proof that the PSE Empress had at last gone too far.

Upon reaching the outside, and down to the bivouac, everyone was treated to a strange sight--  
the Blue Pyxis floating 50 feet overhead which took everyone, ally and enemy by surprise,  
when it spat out nine or so stars and flew off, the stars landing gnetly on the snow and morphing into Gascogne's ship, Gie Bele's Diamante, Hibiki's Vanguard and the Dreads.

"Now that is what i call quick service," said Meia. "Well, let's beat it and fast before the capital winds up sky high." To Vanna, she asked, "where'll we meet?"

"Onboard the Synthesis," replied the CE Empress. "We'll take you and your crew to earth, since our War Machine's got plenty of room. See you there."

On that note, everyone went to one's own ships and took off into the icy sky.

Stunned by what she saw, the PSE Empress was beside herself, before snapping out from it and saying,  
"That Blue Pyxis is something else, but what matters most is that at last we've wiped out the Nirvana for good and good riddence. Now for the Vandread crew." Turning to her keyboard, Pereira typed the targeting stats for the Vandread fleet, muttering, "I'll finish you and the traitors in one big wave......after tonight,  
they'll be blown to bits......."

But just as Brittany uttered those words, the bombs planted on the plants blew, wiping out every buffer circuit on the cryogenic plants, and with no way to cool down, The Apocalypse Engine started overheating,  
the crystal pyramid grew bright white, and alarms sounded everywhere.

"What the--" said the Empress. "What happened? How'd those towers blow? Were those BOMBS I heard?"

"Empress," said Rear Admiral Eos, "Our cryogenic plants went offline! The buffer circuits must've been sabotaged and the tempature's already 117 Fahrenheit and rising!"

"Well switch it off before the Engine explodes!" said Pereira.

"Impossible!" said Admiral Chimali. "The controls ain't working! They must've jammed when the weapon overheated, on the other hand, maybe they were also sabotaged!"

"Who said anything 'bout sabotaged?" said the PSE ruler.

"Empress!" said Ilyo Eos in unbelief.

"Sabotage," said Brittany. "On the other hand.......the Vandread team--they've somehow sneaked into our installation,"  
--here, there were explosions here and there--"and sabotaged the cryogenic plants, oh, they will regret having been born once I get those ^&$#%* sods! Evacuate the city's populace at once!"

With the sweep of her hand, the evil Empess used her magic to teleport herself, her court, everyone within the installation a and all over Rubicon City, belongings included and took off in the carriers, before the black pyramid exploded in a blast of crystalline green light, a ring like wave radiating outward........

Already, The Cornerstone Empie's now retreating fleet was airborne, followed by Gascogne's ship, Gie Bele's Diamante,  
Hibiki's Van and the Dreads--but behind them were the PSE carriers Hohenzollern and Kurzester, and in the flagship's bridge was the Empress Brittany, staring out, just as one of the officers of the deck said, "That shockwave's getting close rapidly!"

"Take evaisive action!" said Perieira, who then turned to the window and beyond it, the fleeing Dreads, then said, "Time to hit them where it hurts the worst," before gesturing out with her thumb, index and center fingers of her hand--

--and that was when the engines of Barnette's Dread shorted and blew out, now a blackened, sputtering wreck.

"Barnette!" called Meia. "Hurry up! That shockwave explosion's coming on behind you!"

"My engines gave out!" said the gunner. "I don't know if I can make it in time! It's no good, I can't get more speed outa them!"

"Hang on," said Gascogne, "I'll swing by and get you!"

But even as the new Vandread leader swung with her ship, Barnette said, "There's no time, you can't make it!" Then as the shockwave was closing in on the faltering Dread, its pilot saying fearfully, "Forgive me, father, I've sinned! I pray in your son Jesus' name to repent of all my sins and be forgiven, so forgive me merciffully, Lord for I am a sinner, for Jesus' sake, amen--AAAAAAAGGGGHHHH!" as the explosion/shockwave combo wiped out the purple Dread and its pilot, till only a fading fireball remained, well, that and the Blue Pyxis fragments that flew out and hastily went for Gie Bele and her ship, implanting themselves in their tragets, the the Major's surprise, however that was secondary to the fact that the Vandread team had lost another comrade...........first Jura Basil Elden Tokai and now Barnette Orangello, a brave gunner that stuck it out through and through, who filled in Gascogne's shoes , who was against "Karitori" (Japanese for reaper or Harvest, sic), who had taken to calling Hibiki as poop-a-doop and now died a brave heroine, but now, the group's mourning wa replaced with fear as the shockwave was zeroing in on them.

"Scatter!" said Gascogne. "I can't get all! Hurry as far as Ganymede orbit and rendezvous at the Synthesis! May luck be with all of you!"

And scatter they did, evading the shockwave, which somehow clipped the left wing of Meia's Dread, sending it spinning and colliding with Hibiki's Van and Dread Misty, the blow jolting the hothead, who fell back and hit his head against the back wall,knocked out in a comatose state in effect; while the others got away, Dreads Meia and Misty and the Van spun back, towards the Hohenzollern, till they were snared in the carrier's tractor beam, then crashed to a two point landing in the lowest hangar deck, the pilots shaken up yet alive, only one of them was already out cold.

Shaking the spiderwebs from her mind, Meia and Misty climbed out from their cockpits, only to be met with a battallion of phasercrossbow toting Emerald Guard shock troops all surround the Dread and the Van, and in the midst of the troops, her phaser leveled at the head Dread pilot and her friend, was the PSE ruler who said, "Right. You're in a bloody heap of trouble, luvs."

After that, two stun blasts from the Empress' crossbow were all it took to knock out Meia and Misty.

As for the explosion, it and its shockwave reached as far as the distant outskirts of the La Placa town till they too faded.....with only a vast crater, the ocean and several melted and broken ice floes remaining--a landscape which once had a tundra and a metropolis that had been named Rubicon City. But now the ocean and ice floe filled crater was all that remained, with the town thankfully intact.......

Another draw in with both the Vandread crew AND the PSE lost--Barnette died in the process and the Empress Pereira's weapon was demolished, not necssarily in that order, but it's all it takes, right? And did we mention that not only is Hibiki knocked out, but that he, Meia and Misty were just apprehended by Ms. Pereira and her PSE crew.  
Worse still, is the fact Gascogne & Co. lost the Nirvana after all those years which means the team's future now stands in question. How will they get to Earth now? Hitch a ride on a U.F.O.? Maybe The Cornerstone Empire, with some help from The Blue Pyxis could help...........  
--a440.

Next: Chapter 22: Sisters In Arms


	23. Sisters In Arms

Tensions mount, nightmares run the gamut,  
the odds stand against the Vandread crew-  
what next?  
-a440.

CHAPTER 22: SISTERS IN ARMS

It was a dark, cold and rainy night in one of the city streets of one of Mejere's capital cities, when a tired out, wet and cold Meia staggered through the alleyways, when she spotted, standing near a local neon lit tavern, was Barnette, who said, "Meia, how you been?"

"Barnette...!" breathed the Dread piot, who ran to her, and the gunner faded out from her and faded in behind her, saying, "Sorry 'bout all that."

"Th-that...that can't be...!" stammered Meia. "Y-you were wiped out by an explosion's shockwave when we blew up the PSE's Apocalypse Engine..."-here, she was crying bitterly before she sobbed, "Forgive me, Barnette...I should've tried to save you,  
shouldn't had used bombs on that weapon, shouldn't had-"

"Hey don't blame yourself," said the Barnette spector, "I sure ain't blaming myself, it was no one's fault but fate, as well as that of Ms. Pereira's, because she sabotaged my Dread-  
hey, it was just my time to go...and now I live in purgatory."

On those words, Barnette vanished and at the same time, the whole scene whited out, till it felt like Meia was cold but dry...

At first, the white faded into a dense cold fog, a vapor...then the head Dread pilot soon could make out the she was in a nine foot square cylyndrical chamber with stainless steel walls, now covered with frost, a toilet at one end, a sink at the other-and a cot on one wall, with an inert Hibiki and Misty, proof that it was no dream, that Meia had recovered from the effect of the stun blast from the PSE ruler, and had woke up, in some kind of refridgerated cell, only where were they, still on the Hohenzollern or someplace else? Even now, the blue haired newbie muttered, "What round...is it...? Ding...Meia...?" Then jiggling her head, she blurted, "Meia! You OK?"

"I think so," said the head Dread pilot, "either that or we wound up in the corner's freezer."

"Close," said Misty, "we're in a freezer cell, which is reserved for the worst offenders in The Empire, as well as for specimens lined up for the Empress' biogentic research and development, and there's only one place where they're located at-Bele Kreuz, the PSE's island base."

"Great," moaned Meia. "Like it or not, we may be forced to prepare for the worst."

"It just started," said the blue haired newbie, "because Hibiki ain't waking up. I shook the poor dude a few times, but he just lays there; at least he's got a pulse."

Fear stricken, the head Dread pilot turned to the now unmoving hothead, lying on the cot,  
still breathing so far, and shook his arm, saying, "Hibiki? Come on, get up! Say something,  
anything!" Then to Misty, "You sure you didn't knock out..."

"Word of honor, I found him like that in a comatose state," said the newbie. "Must've hit his head

when his Van crashed in the carrier's hangar."

"That sucks," said a disdained Meia. "Great flying dog do-wait, was that said before?"

At that moment, the door hissed open, and standing there of the threshold of the cell, their phasers aimed, were the four PSE officers Noivo, Acitcalag, Aeipoissac and Nolyc, the fourth officer saying, "Misty Cornwell, by the order of the Empress of The Pereira Star Empire, we've orders to bring you to the torture chamber for your death sentence for your treason prior to your processed into biogenetic material projects straightaway, so say your farewells to you comrade and get your butt outa here-or else..."

Turning to Misty, a grief stricken Meia could only weep, "I'll miss you, my sister..."

"I'll never forget you," wept Misty, "my sister, my baby...look after Hibiki..."

After a quick hug and kiss with the Dread leader, a sobbing Misty went bravely with the PSE goons before the door slammed with a hiss, after which Meia knelt before the comatose Hibiki, taking his hand and crying gently, her tears frozen in the 40 degree Fahrenheit cold cell and saying, "Get up, come on, Hibiki, get up, don't die on me...! Wake up! Please...!"

For Meia Gisborn, it seemed history was fated to repeat itself: first Jura, then Barnette...  
and now Hibiki? Right now, she shuddered not just from the cold, but also from the possibility that the Van pilot might be on the list of fallen...

The PSE officers ushered Misty into a torture by electric shock chamber similar to the one used to torture Jura on the Hohenzollern; near the controls was the PSE ruler, with four other troops near the table, their weapons all aimed at the bluehaired newbie as she lay on the table before the PSE strapped her. After that, Pereira stated, "Misty Cornwell,  
you were the most loyal officer in my Empire, the most unique warrior and the most prolific Diamante pilot, but now, you've been found guilty of treason in my Empire, which I detest, indeed, you stand, no, lay accused of treason, and the sentence is death-with 7000 volts of alternating current from our torture equipment. Any last words?"

"That I pray in Jesus' name to be forgiven for all my sins, amen," said Misty.

"How sentimental," said Pereira, "and bloody assuming. No matter-prepare to meet the angel of death; after today, maybe you may learn honesty don't pay."

"I thought it was 'crime don't pay,'" said the newbie.

"Not from a villian's viewpoint," replied Brittany. "Sweet dreams, traitor, and good night, sweet princess."

Turning to the controls, the evil Empress started to turn a dial...and then, without warning, the lights went out.

"#%*&^$!" barked Brittany. "What happened to the lights? Get the backup generators online!"

"It'll take time!" said Nolyc. "We'll have to grope for the comm...!"

In all that confusion, Misty could feel the straps come loose, then someone grab her and pull her off the table and out from the room, down the hall in dimlit confusion, past several PSE staff shouting, then several halls before out an open door that led to the outside of a building-one of many steel industral oil plaform like building towers on an island the size of Halifax, flanked by the Hohenzollern and the Kurzester...and it was in the daylight that Misty could see who had saved her-the one and only Dita Libely, wearing a set of infared goggles which she took off, and handed one of two crossbows to the newbie saying,"Figured you could use one."

"Dita!" said the newbie. "How'd you know where I was?"

"We tracked the carriers over to the island base," said the UFO otaku, "which the General said it was Bele Kreuz, so knowing the PSE's standard procedure for traitors -"

"-they took out the main power plant while you came for me," said Misty. "I truly owe you one."

"So let's start collecting," said the elated and grinning Dita. "Where's Meia and Hibiki?"

"Loan me those goggles," said the newbie, "and I'll lead you to them."

Deep down in the bowels of the Hohenzollern's eninge room, head engineer Elidocorc Eednud was saying to a crew member, "The whole thing's for the birds, you know that?"

"How do you figure?" said the other member.

"So far," said the engineer, "it's been getting el dullo ever since that botched raid on Drege and when The Apocalypse Engine blew up. I wish something better could happen."

At that moment, a second officer ran up, saying, "We've got a problem-a bunch of crazy women raided the engineering scetion for the XEW generator and blasted its controls and systems. Some of the Emerald Guard tried to stave them off, but a few were stunned, and the rest hightailed in a flash."

"Stupid idiots," muttered Eednud. "Why would they desert their posts? And without our XEW plant, it's only a matter of time before the rest of the Hohenzollern's crew recover from the effects and rebel."

Suddenly, a faint rumble could be heard-only it wasn't (for once) from the giant carrier's engines. And no wonder, for outside, flying over the flagship carrier and the island base, was The Blue Pyxis, making a beeline for the stern part of the carrier. Indeed the Hohenzollern's weapons were blasting away at the azure orb, to no effect, so it was no wonder the whole crew, chief engineer Eednud and company included, were fleeing the huge ship, taking every last one of their possessions with them...and then, the impossible happened...The Blue Pyxis went right through the hull of the ship's stern section, located be hind a yard from the bridge tower, and landed between the two octogonal 15 foot high reactors (one for main power and the other for back up and the stastis projector), before blasting out, a blue light throught the engine room, as the surface of everything in the vast chamber, was covered in a growing sheet of blue crystal, which spread from there to the interior, spreading outward to the whole exterior of the flagship carrier, till the whole ship, the the sure suprise of the PSE staff there, were thunderstruck a such a strange thing. For a moment, the carrier remined covered in blue crystal...and then, in a blue white flash, the whole crystal shell exploded everywhere...

When the power generators went out, Meia whipped out her pocket flashlight and saw the air was humid and the ice was melting off the walls, so she reached in her armored part of her outfit and took out one of the bombs she and the team used to take out the cryogenic plants, then set it for 12 seconds, attatched on the door and pulling the out cold Hibiki under the cot with her, tensed for the blast...then there was a explosion that tore a hole through the thick door-a hole that the Dread leader, with the hothead on her back, piggyback, ran out into a office area with a desk; apperently, the Emerald Guard deserted their posts there in the confusion, which didn't matter to Meia, who grabbed a nearby phaser crossbow and blasted the four remaining doors of the cold cells, calling out, "Come on, all of you in the cells, let's go!"

What came out from the cells however, looked like something from the banks of Scotland, because four rugged bishonen guys came out in white t shirts, tam o shanters and kilts; their leader stood seven feet tall with slicked back red hair and green eyes in a face that was a cross twixt Joe Pesci and Canadian actor Dave Hemblem as he looked around the room and said in a thick Scottish brogue, "Och! We dinna expect our rescuer to be a blue haired bonny lassie, now?"

"Hoot mon," said the second, "but they say it takes all kinds."

"What difference does it make?" said the third, "we're free, it's what matters most."

"Hoot mon," said the fourth, "now let's grab those crossbows from that wall rack over there."

And while the Scot guys were doing so, the tall leader turned to Meia, who lit up the room with her flashlight and said,  
"Thanks so much for saving me and my brothers-permit me to introduce myself: I am Nathan Macneil and there's my brothers, Montgomery, Norton and Andrew, you and your human back pack?"

"Gisborn," said Meia, "Meia Gisborn; the back pack is Hibiki Tokai, who I've been trying to flee with so I can get some medical help for him. Let's go!"

With Meia leading, the group ran down the hall, just as the lights came back on, the result of Bele Kreuz's backup generators-and from the woodwork were dozens of PSE troops, blasting with their weapons, yet Meia and the brothers Macneil fought back with their stun blasts effectively.

"What now?" said Andrew, "we canna get through that wall of PSE stormtroopers."

"Never say die, lads!" said a full of gusto Nathan.

"Don't even mention die, mon," said Montgomery.

When Misty and Dita, who had fought side by side with their stolen weapons set for stun, reached the cold cells,  
only to discover them empty.

"Looks like a jailbreak," said Misty.

"Yay, Meia," cheered Dita, "I knew even those PSE punks couldn't build a jail that could contain her."

"Let's get to the base's XEW plant and ensure the odds stand in our favor," said the blue haired newbie. "Then we'll meet up with Meia and Hibiki."

Hoisting her stolen weapon, the UFO otaku said, "Just watch my back to the end, partner."

"Right the first time," said Misty. "we're sisters in arms, to the end."

Indeed, for the next hour or so, Dita and Misty Blasted and stunned their way through blockades, barriers, barracades and the PSE troops, through several walls; once, at one point, the UFO otaku spotted a Emerald Guard officer training a phaser howitzer on them and said, "Misty! That gunner overhead!"

"Well, stop her, girl!" said the newbie, who was winging off half a squad with some stun blasts. "Stop her!"

Dita did just that, landing a stun bolt on the officer before she could trigger the howitzer; seeing that, Misty said, "You go, girl! You sure you ain't PSE material? No matter; down that way here! Oh, and thanks again for saving my butt from that shock chamber."

"What's a battle sister for?" said the grinning UFO otaku.

In a matter of minutes, the two were peering round the corner where there was a huge door (seven feet wide) on which was stenciled XEW PLANT. NO ADMITTANCE, STAFF ONLY, And guarding that were two PSE troops, which didn't mean a thing to Dita and Misty, when they phaser stunned them, and entered a giant chamber of gas pipes and other equipment, stunning the dozen or so sharpshooter minions of the PSE, and in record time.

"Float like a feather, sting like a hornet," said Dita. "What now?"

"Set your weapon for blast mode," said Misty, "and let's blast away at the controls and those XEW tanks and generators, tonto!"

Which was just what the newbie and the UFO otaku did, blasting camera eyes, control panels, equipment housings, gas tanks, plant equipment and ventilators, till the place was a steely trash heap.

"That should plant the seeds of revolution," said Misty. "Now let's look for Meia and your bro. I know a shortcut."

"Think that'll turn some the PSE staff against Ms. Pereira?" said Dita.

"I guarantee it," replied the newbie. "Now let's make tracks."

When the lights came back on, it didn't take a PhD. for the evil Empress to discover that Misty was gone, so she spoke into her crossbow's built in comm, "Alert our central computer to broadcast the news that our traitor Misty Cornwell is on the loose and is to be apprehended, or better still, shot on sight-dead or alive. A reward of 15500,000,000 ingots will be earmarked for the one that bests Ms. Cornwell. That is all." Then pushing some buttons on the comm, she spoke, Communications annex, place all sections on alert!"

"Understood, Empress," said the voice on the other end.

Switching off her comm, Brittany spotted, from the corner of her eye, the eight officers running out the door and barked,  
"Hey you! I didn't dismiss you yet!"

"We're on strike, sister," said Aiepoissac, "Join us, or chicken out." Then she and the rest ran out, Pereira enraged chasing after then shouting, "Come back here, you cowards! We got work to do!" Then she shot after them, a few bolts of her magic, which the fleeing women dodged before they went down one hallway.

"What's going on here?" grumbled the PSE ruler, before she turned on her comm and said into it, "Admiral Xaltocan, do you read me?"

"I read you," said the Admiral.

"Bring Eos and some of the Emerald Guard with me," said the Empress, and help me track down a handful of L7 sods."

Dita and Misty had noticed that several of The Emerald Guard were breaking up and fleeing if different directions, when they reached an open door that led to, according to the newbie, an airfield the serviced the PSE carriers; they were four yards from the hallway, when a female vocoderized voice spoke on the PA system: "Attention all Imperial staff, stand by for a visiual bulletin." From there, several projected tri screens appeared, depicting Misty in a three way mug shot.

"Do you know that woman?" said the voice. "She's Misty Cornwell, currently a traitor to our Empire, so all staff is to be on the lookout for her, as she's wanted, dead or alive, and must be shot on sight; the Empress Brittany will pay 15500,000,000 ingots to the victor. That is all."

After the screen vanished, Dita muttered, "On top of everything else."

"They're lible to shoot me first and ask questions later, just to get that money," said Misty. "Down that way, before we're spotted."

The two took a turn and ran down the passage...and that was when Gascogne, a crossbow in hand, ran up to meet them saying, "I take it you two knocked out that XEW plant in the base, judging from the many defections in the Imperial staff.  
Looks like Ms. Pereira's lible to have a handful. Say, where's Meia and Hibiki?"

"Weren't they with you?" said a fearful Dita.

"First things first," said the new Vandread leader. "Follow me and THEN we'll seek out our compadres."

Meia, already worn out from running-and carrying the 117 pound Hibiki on her back-stopped on top of one of the base buildings, as did the brothers Macneil, to notice that many of the death dealing Emerald Guard were scattering and running in different directions.

"Och...," said Norton, "they're running away as if they saw a zombie."

"Dinna forget there's such a thing as island spectors," said Nathan. "Well, let's go."

"Not so fast, sods!" called out the Empress, from a catwalk above nearby, with the Admiral and the Rear Admiral along with several loyal Emerald Guard troops, their phaser crossbows all aimed at Meia and her group.

"Does that mean it's all over?" said Montgomery.

"Aye, it means all's over, laddie," said Andrew.

"Right, so far, I've been hearing stories that one of our traitors flew the coop," said the PSE ruler, the power went out, and there's been sabotage in my ranks, not to mention some happenings in my flagship carrier. Well, after today, at least there'll be SOME consolation when me and my staff rid you escapees, first using the same way I did in those bloody Boogaloos, before we blast you right where you stand, one way or another!"

No sooner had Pereira said that, there was a growing rumble that almost shook the foundations, and then Rear Admiral Eos said, "Empress...over there...c-could that be...?"

"What the #%*$^& you...?" said Brittany, before she followed the pointing finger of her officer...and out at something beyond Meia and the Macneils, who in turn, turned to see what was it...and then were spellbound at what they saw.

And no wonder. For rising up, was the flagship carrier Hohenzollern, the same as it looked, but with one difference; instead of its usual gloss green color, it was now a gloss ice blue color, just like that of the Nirvana.

"My flagship carrier...," breathed the PSE ruler. "how'd that...? Could it be The Blue Pyxis did that, the same way it created the Nirvana...?"

Surprising still, was the fact, that standing on the top of the carrier, in the center section near an open topside hatch, four yards from the missile silo doors and cannons, were Dita, Misty and Tsitra, all waving for attention, the General calling out, "Run, Meia! Run to the edge of the bulding and jump! It's your only chance!"

Already Meia didn't need to be told twice, as she, with Hibiki on her back, ran to the edge, the brothers Macneil following-and Nathan shouting, "JAIL BREAK!"-and with a flying jump of faith, landed safely on the hull deck of the Hohenzollern, then meeting with Tsitra & Co., before heading down the hatch which in turn sealed off afterwards, just before the Minotaur class carrier did a turn and flew off and up to the skies. For the moment, the Empress and the rest, were transfixed by the unexpected turn of events, before they snapped out from it, and then the PSE ruler spoke into her crossbow comm, "All weapons emplacements, stop that ship! Stop the Hohenzollern!" Then to the rest of her court and the troops, she barked, "Blast that ship! Blast that carrier!"

But even with Pereira & Co., along with the base's weapons blasting away, the Hohenzollern's sheilds staved of much of the salvos, as it spun round, then shot up to the skies, in a flash of light and an echoing ZOW! After that, the carrier zoomed,  
with gradual speed, because it was a huge capital ship, up through the skies, though the atmospheres, and away from the Ganymede surface, out into space...

Looks like the Vandread crew got themselves a new ship...the Hohenzollern. Seems like an irony that Gascogne & Co.  
would steal the enemy flagship to the chagrin of Ms. Pereira. Well, they say one man's-er, one woman's capital ship is another woman's transport. Now the Vandread crew can get to Earth in record time...but let's hope they can wake up the sleeping beauty-UH!-the sleeping beast known as Hibiki Tokai before Meia winds up with her 19th nervous breakdown.  
-a440

Next: Chapter 23: A Strange Dream


	24. A Strange Dream

Now that the Vandread crew got a new ship, there's the matter of getting Hibiki back on his feet, sourpuss trademark and all.  
-a440

Chapter 23: A Strange Dream

Climbing down a ladder and winding up in a hallway, which once had black walls and was lit with green light, now had blue walls, with white lighting, Meia (who was carrying Hibiki on her shoulders), the brothers Mac Neil, Dita and Misty followed Tsitra, the General saying, "Least we got much of the problems solved; in any case, the flagship carrier Hohenzollern is ours now-yours now. Let's hurry, Gascogne's waiting in the bridge."

"Everyone's here?" said Meia. "That means the rest of the Nirvana crew's here as well."

"Good guess," said Dita.

At that moment, Duero and Paiway showed up, the former saying, "What happened to him?"

"He got knocked out," said Misty. "So far, he's been in a comatose state."

"Come on, Paiway," said the doc," "let's get the H man to some medical help."

"Roger dodger," said Paiway, who, along with Duero, picked up Hibiki and carried him down one hall, while Tsitra led the rest down another hall.

Heading down the vast halls, all in ice blue gloss, the group turned into a ramp like passage up, into the flagship carrier's bridge tower, and up into the bridge itself, where Meia and the rest weren't prepared for what they say, for the Nirvana crew, along with Celtic, Ezra, Belvedere Rebecca and Amarone, at the controls of the Hohenzollern, Major Gie Bele Taltli at one panel, Bart at the helm ops controls, getting the hang of the gooseneck joystick controllers, and nearby was none other than Gascogne nearby, who said, "Welcome onboard our biggest trophy we stole from our enemy-the Hohenzollern.  
I'd never thought I'd see the day we'd be using their own ship to carry on in our quest to Earth."

"Och," said Norton, "it's irony that we'd steal the flagship of our most hated enemy, much less-" he gestured to Tsitra and Gie Bele-" that two of the PSE's high officers would defect to our side-uh, no offense, lassies."

"None taken," said the grinning Major. "Anyway, now that we know how to liberate the weak minded for the Empress' control, it should be no problem to crush her Empire."

"Time to begin the next stage act," said the supply officer turned Vandread head, "and set for the asteroid field between Jupiter and Mars. Stand by for lightspeed jump to there for now."

"Unkel dunkel, o capitaine," said Bart from his station, as he shifted the gooseneck levers into a new setting, and worked switches.

"Think you can master such a huge carrier, Bart?" said Misty.

"Just as easy as driving an RV," replied the bald bishounen pilot, "and even better-no more doing so in the buff, within a crystal bubble."

"Amen, Bartster," agreed an grinning Meia.

"What a shame," said Dita. "you looked cute in just your birthday suit safe in your bubble."

"Hey, you're referring to my spouse, mellow out, OK?" said the General. "It'll take a few minutes to plot a path and calculate the solution for the jump."

Just then, the Cornerstone Empire Empress Vanna cut in on the airwave wireless in the carrier's speakers, "C.E.W.M.  
Synthesis to Hohenzollern, C.E.W.M. Synthesis to Hohenzollern, do you copy?"

"Onscreen," said Gascogne to Ezra.

Instantly the triagngular digital screen came out of nowhere with the surprised visage of the CE Empress who smirked, saying, "Well...'bout time we heard from you. Our CTI senses detected faint traces of your brainwave patterns onboard that ship-to the point of wondering how you stole Ms. Pereira's flagship. Must've been quite a feat, how'd you do that?"

"Freak luck and a lot of help from The Blue Pyxis," replied Gascogne. "We had infiltrated the carrier and me, the General and the Major broke into the ship's XEW plant, stunned the Emerald Guard and knocked out the gas plants, and right after we were down the halls after turning off the gas, when The Blue Pyxis came out of nowhere and settled in the engine room, and used its magic on the Hohenzollern, powering the carrier and turned it into a blue ship, while the whole crew took everything they had and skedaddled from the ship, so we took over; not only that, The Blue Pyxis deposited all our possessions we had on the Nirvana, as well as the whole crew and our friends that were onboard the Nirvana all over the carrier, which means no one perished from The Apocalypse Engine when it hit the Nirvana."

"Freak luck indeed," said Vanna. "You got yourselves a larger and better ship than before...well, let's make ready with the jump to the asteroid field. Vanna, out."

"Gascogne, out," said the new head before the screen vanished, then she turned to the brothers Mac Neil and said, "And what of you guys, what's your story?"

"We were once residents of La Placa," said Nathan, who was yawning, " until a month ago, we were arrested by that rotten Empress and her Emerald Guard who raided our town and murdered our wives just to spite us, before we were arrested as dissidents for our real job-spreading anti PSE leaflets, because we've been fighting that PSE for years.  
Worse still, we were sent to the cold cells at their Bele Kreuz base so that we would be prepared for her biological creations...until-" he indicated Meia-"that blue haired lassie saved us all, so to thank you, we wanna join with you in the fight against that Pereira and her Empire, if not your quest."

"You got it," said Gascogne, "As it stands, it'll take all the help we can get, so welcome to the ranks of the Vandread team."

"Thanks, lassie," said Montgomery, "we owe you all one, so much, the better."

"Och, we just wanna stick it to that Empress Brittany after what she did to our wives and stuck out butts in those freezer cells," said Andrew.

"Hoot mon," agreed Norton, "besides, we've never even seen the earth."

At that moment, Tsitra spoke from her station, "We're ready for the lightspeed jump, and so is The Cornerstone Empire."

"Get on with it," said Gascogne. "Ready, steady, START!"

At once Bart and the rest worked some controls-

-and the Hohenzollern, the Synthesis and the rest of The Cornerstone Empire's fleet, every last one, zoomed into hyperspace; Jupiter, its moons, along with Ganymede all vanished as if they never existed, the stars ahead shifting to green, with the stars behind shifting to red.

"We're on our way," said Major Gie Bele Taltli. "After we pass throught that field, it's another jump to Mars before we reach Earth."

"Wait," said Meia, "where's Hibiki?"

"Good question," said Dita, "where is he?"

"No doubt," said Misty, "they've taken our lord prince to the ship's Medi Section; follow me, I'll show you where it's at."

And follow her the head Dread pilot and the UFO otaku did...

In the ship's medical 15 foot square chamber, know as The Medi Section, Duero and Paiway had gotten the hang of the medical computers and the instruments as Hibiki lay on a table shaped like a bike mirror, a few wiring sensors taped on his head and face, breathing through a filtered mask hooked to hoses to air tanks and other breathing equipment, just as Meia, Dita and Misty entered.

"How is he?" said the head Dread pilot.

"It's too early to tell," replied Duero. "other than the fact he also had a slight concussion, least that didn't detatch his retinas, so much, the better. but the cause for his comatose state was head trauma."

Hearing that, Dita and Misty started to cry, while Meia gasped, then paled before saying, "What's his chances of pulling through?"

"Again, it's too early to tell," said the Taarak doc. "He may be comatose anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. Maybe even months. Comas can always be unpredictable-even to the point where he may die; all we can do is hope and pray."

Her voice breaking, Meia said, "Let's do so...just do everything you can for him...," before crying along with the blue haired newbie and the UFO otaku...

However, no one knew that Hibiki was entering a coma induced surrealistic dreamstate...

It was on a spacecraft of Earth origin that so many people had been placed in suspended animation, after their escape from an already poisoned and machine ridden Earth, prior to the flight to the planets they would colonize, among which would be later known as Taarak and Mejere-and among the many survivors were the parental units that would be known in the distant furture as Lord Granpa and Lady Granma-not to mention their children Hibiki and Dita Tokai...

Somewhere, in a hot desert on a orange sunset, Hibiki had walked 200 yards from his granpa's house, bristling over the idea that he was to live in Taarak's capital city and make friends...who needed friends anyway? All he dreamed of was to study for a GED test and finally graduate for real. But no, his granpa insisted the hothead live in the city and make friends.  
Friends indeed...now THAT was easier said than done! What kind of a half baked idea was that? Already, even Hibiki knew with sunset fast approaching, he had to get to the city fast before it got dark, because out in the desert, there were bound to be dangers at night, the larger preadator creatures stalking the smaller ones, who in turn stalked the even smaller ones through a matter of kill to live.

Thankfully, the hothead hitched a ride on a fuel truck that was bound for the city and the driver also gave him a lot of worthy advice along the way...

During one of the many skirmishes when now and then the troops of the Mejere army would make raids in the Taarak cities, Hibiki happened to blunder into a group of one of the female troops, when one of them, no doubt their leader, grabbed him by the front of his shirt and said, "Call yourself a man? If you claim to be a so called man, like the rest of you parasite males claim to be, then lick my boot."

Dropping the shaken up hothead, the troop leader glared as Hibiki, aware that those women were aching to hurt someone, bent down to lick the toe of the leader's shoe...and the said leader said, "Let's get the #*%$^ moving...he ain't no man."

Though the troops walked off, Hibiki, who should had been grateful to be spared, couldn't help but wonder what all that meant.

The Halcyon Elementry School on Taarak was one of the most unique places of education anywhere, mostly because their school board dedicated themselves to ensure that no boy played hooky till he had graduated officially. However, it was on a play period that Hibiki's interest for adventure was evident, at age six, when he was chasing his boyhood chum Shiro all over the recess yard, playing Taarak males and Mejere females-in effect, the Taarak version of cowboys and Indians of today-saying "I'll wallop you with my Vanguard, Shiro, you won't get away from me, Mejere scum!"

Shiro, a redhead with the looks of Howdy Doody, was hiding behind one of the slides, pretending to be a Mejere woman warrior, said, "Come on, male wimp, I'll call you out!"

Lifting a wooden sword, Hibiki swung foward, saying "Swish! I got you!"

Staggering, Shiro feigned getting slashed, grunted, then feel to the cement landscape, then got up and said, "OK, it's your turn to be the Mejere warrior and I'll be the Taarak Van pilot."

"The fact is," said Hibiki in a boast, "is that no one can be the best Van pilot like me."

Hibiki was in one of the lecture halls in Taarak High, learning sines and cosines, yet dreaming of the day when his secret yen for adventure would be fufilled. Still, even he knew his education came first, so back to his books that he had, he went,  
muttering, "The things I do just to chase a dream..."

In Fats-Ricky, one of the Taarak capital city's local road houses, Hibiki and several of his factory buddies were jamming away at their rock innstruments, decked out in Viking helmets, and wearing ear plugs to protect their hearing, as they played the likes of such Taarak chartbusters as Vanguard Blues, Get Your Kicks On Route 66, Ain't That A Shame, I Hear You Knocking (But You Can't Come In), along with The Toccata For Organ In F Minor, all that from his workhorse-the Hammond B-3 organ-that only the hothead could play, followed by Clocky Dooby, Chin Chin A-Tri and The Ikazutchi Rock, which was the saga of Taarak, with its four choruses. Overall, Hibiki and his band gave the patrons quite a show, raking in 180,000 yen that night-a major first in Fats-Ricky history.

It was noon and Hibiki, in a jet ultralight, a precursor to the newest Van, was flying high, on a natural high, above the Taarak capital city skyline, taking in the blue skies, as if frozen in time, gulping down the clean air above, high from and free from the city's polluted airs below.

At the time when the new improved Ikazutchi would be launched to take on the women of Mejere, Hibiki wasted no time stowing away on the ship, in his hopes of stealing a Vanguard, then getting back safely, but he didn't count on the ship itself taking off, nor getting ambushed by Magno Vivian's pirates, much less running into Dita Liebely, Jura Basil Elden and the rest. But things got better, when he found solace with the stoic Meia Gisborn.

Meia...

For Hibiki, it was hard to say if first it was love from Meia, then turned into lust. Right now however, that hardly mattered to Hibiki, because he and the rest of the Vandread crew were too busy fighting the Harvesters, the creation of Brittany Pereira-to think that one woman had started it all, along with the Red and Blue Pyxis...and if it wasn't The Harvest, there was Rabat, the Rat Bastard, along with Misty's arrival, the politics of Taarak and Mejere, the discovery of B.C.'s secret (to Bart's chagrin), the she was a he, the climbing on a hill to meet a test set out by Rabat's people, the end of that war and when he and Dita were sent to bring males for the women...to think that a blue crystalline creation of the PSE Empress made it all possible. But then, that was before, without knowing it then, that he and his sister Dita were reunited, since that fateful day on the Ikazutchi...

And then, it all came back to the Van pilot known as Echo City, when he had downloaded the evil Empire's plans for the Engine into Pyaro, then downloaded it on a disc, and he got his invite to the reunion on the Nirvana, and Dita, Barnette, Meia and Misty came, then he was chased, then loved out of his mind with Jura, only to gradually fall in love with her, then there was the discovery of Rabat and Utan dead, the discovery of the hidden room that would be just the place for Hibiki, Bart and Duero, and when Pyaro was found shot dead, the debut of Misty and Barnette as Dread piolts and their confrontation with the PSE carrier Cygnus, Rebecca's arrival with the map for The Pyramid Of Titan, Cara's Vandread debut, their first meeting with The Cornerstone Empire on Balderon, the infiltration at the enemy base and lab, the evil Empress revealing some truths behind Jura, who in turn revealed her secret afilliation with the PSE and when she and Caria did their risky escape, the growing romance twixt the hothead and the blonde Dread pilot, the sandstorm on Titan after Dita and Misty fell down the hole, the discovery of Misty as a spy, the risky trek in The Pyramid Of Europa, and Hibiki & Co. were set before the firing squad before the Empress, and the defection of Misty, Tsitra and Gie Bele, and the wedding twixt Bart and the General, and the hothead saw one of the Boogaloo stowaways assassinate B.C., followed by the death of Magno, and Hibiki was with Gascogne & Co. as they chased down the said stowaway in the missile bays while the Zaar Vouivre was blasting at the Nirvana, and he and Jura were married, and they were at the reception, and he and the rest of the crew were defending Dredge from the weapons and the stastis blast of the Hohenzollern, and he and the crew, saw Jiggy Jiggy, Pee Cee Bee and Harlow capture Jura, and Hibiki & Co., along with Vanna and her C E army were fighting the AFL-1-8400, before the Empress Brittany showed up and wiped out the last of the Boogaloos, and the Vandread crew were in a shoot out, and Jura was stabbed in Misty's place from the PSE Empress' electro bolts, and he was comforted by the spector of Magno, and he and the rest of the Vandread crew were snowboarding the snowy plains of La Placa, and he and the rest were blown all round in The Apocalypse Engine's intake tube tunnel, and the weapon base along with Rubicon City was exploding and the explosion's shockwave wiped out Barnette, and it had scattered his Van,  
before he was hit on the head, and he was...

...in a flash of white light...which turned out to be multible rays of prismatic beams of sunlight, the hothead standing in a vast hilly field of tall grass, wild flowers and trees, facing a 15 foot high hill where the light was coming from. Curious, Hibiki ran up the hill to check it out, but three quarters up, he was stopped, blocked by some invisible wall; apparently it was there, to be determined if Hibiki was to stay or continue up the hill.

For a moment, the Van pilot stood there, unsure of what choice to make, when he saw up ahead, some children playing,  
and after them, came Barnette, in a summer dress, along with Jura, in an blue and white gingham dress, her hair fixed up in garlands; upon seeing that, the mechanic chose to continue, calling out, "Jura!"

Turning to Hibiki, the blonde said, "Why didn't you save me? You had a chance...but I love you all the same...come back to me..."

All Hibiki could do was try to run past the unseen barrier, but it felt like he was running in slomo, and that was when he was called away...from some other woman's voice, away from Jura, Barnette, the children, the grassy medow, the light, and into the shadows...into the swirling mists, as the other voice said, "Hibki...I love you...please don't die on me...!"

After who knows how long he had been out, Hibiki woke up to a room with blue gloss lined walls and such, yet the architecture was. Judging from the medical equipment, the hothead guessed he was in a hospital of some kind-and nearby, her face buried in his orange, black and brown shirt, was a sobbing Meia. Meia, the least likely woman to be crying, and yet here she was holding his hand, and crying away.

"Live for me," she was saying through her tears, "don't die, Hibiki, you've got to get up...I don't care what you think, but since we first meant, I hope Jura will forgive me, but, I always did love you, since we first met on the Nirvana, back when it was the Ikazutchi, and I always will!"

As if to prove her point, the head Dread pilot bent down and passionately kissed the Van pilot which was surprised by the kiss which was just as good as Jura's, even intense, as new sensations surged through his nerve system, renewed his health; after the kiss, Meia prayed, "Lord Jesus Christ, only son of the father, forgive me for not praying to you as many times as I should, but inasmuch as I shouldn't question your way, I can't help but ask you, where were you when the need for you was great? Where were you when we lost Capitain Vivian, B.C., Jura and Barnette? Right now, I pray you spare Hibiki Tokai, in your holy name, amen."

The fact that Meia was holding his hand, inspired Hibiki to grip the said hand-and at that, Meia's head shot up,  
exclaiming through her sobs, "Hibiki!"

"You were expecting maybe Tomita?" said the grinning hothead.

Throwing her arms 'round the Van pilot, the head Dread pilot buried her face again in the Van pilot's shirt and sobbed again, only they were tears of joy as she wept, "Oh, my baby...! You're awake, you're finally awake...! We were so worried...you've been out for hours...we thought we lost you...!"

"Where we at?" said the hothead, looking all around, "still on Ganymede?"

Composing herself and brushing the last of the tears, Meia replied, in an elated mood, "No, we're on our way to the asteroid field, prior to reaching Mars, our last stop before we get to Earth. By some happenstance, The Blue Pyxis took over the PSE flagship carrier, the Hohenzollern, the same way it did with our pirate ship and the Ikazutchi, so we stole the carrier from The Empress...and the rest is history..."

"Well," said a grinning Hibiki, "here we go again."

Well, who says happy endings don't exist? The H man is back on the tracks and the Vandread crew is all together now So far, they've got an asteroid field to bypass, and yet another stopover, only it's on Mars. seems we're getting down to the wire, but let's hope the PSE Empress ain't on the other end, along with the rest of what remains of her cruel crew; what a difference turning off those XEW plants makes. We can hardly wait so that'll be one more muse to finish.  
-a440

Next: Chapter 24: Mars, Pa's & Jr.'s.


	25. Mars, Pa's & Jr's

Time to get back on the tracks after months of a hiatus, so let's make up for lost time and reunite with the Vandread bunch -a440

Chapter 24: Mars, Pa's & Jr.'s.

For Hibiki Tokai, it turned out he had been in his coma for hours, but thankfully, as Duero discovered through extensive exams, there was no serious damage to the hothead's skull, nor his brain. Finally the time came,  
just as the Hohenzollern and The Cornerstone Empire fleet came out from lightspeed, a yard from the asteroid field which bordered between Jupiter and Mars, that Duero officially declared the Van pilot well and in high grade health, so with that in mind, Meia celebrated the recovery by taking Hibiki on a walk through what had been-ironiclly-the vast sporting arena of death where years ago, Jura and Tsitra had sparred reluctantly and after that it had been the firing squad place where the said Tsitra, Gie Bele and Misty were to blast the Vandread crew to death, only to defect; through the magic of The Blue Pyxis, the place had been transformed into a much better version of the Nirvana's park section, with white LEDs for stars in the sky at night, fountains, a pond and river, even a waterfall. Park benches, hills, streetlights and trees were also common here, as the hothead and the head Dread pilot walked through, amazed at such a transformation-right in the least place they would wind up in, bound to the wall, staring down at some crossbow barrels, and as they walked, they took to making goo goo eyes at each other and holding each other from time to time (cue England Dan & John Ford Coley's Part Of Me, Part Of You), in addition to sharing kisses and exploring their new park...a far cry from the way Meia used to see Hibiki as a friend at first, a feeling so foreign to her then, now it seemed it had finally broke loose from her stoic shell, resulting in a sea change that revealed a new Meia that few ever saw.

For Hibiki, the regrets of having abandoned Jura for Meia seemed to fade like a sepia toned image;  
he loved Jura then, only that woman was gone, earmarked for whatever afterlife she was set for, if not heaven, then maybe purgatory, given the fact the late blonde diva had repented prior to her death.  
Whatever feelings of love he had for Meia, who seemed more than willing to help him with his post Jura life, as the hothead grew on Meia, his feelings gradually building up a step at a time, hard to believe that it was the same Meia that had a tough front on her face, that now had a tender side. In any case, the two settled at the base of a weeping willow tree near a brook, the head Dread pilot's back to the said tree, cradling a docile Hibiki, who asked, "When we first met on the Nirvana, was it love at first sight?"

"Not at first," replied the head Dread pilot, "uh, maybe, maybe not-not at first...but I guess it took time to get used to you. some say that my friendship changed over the days, saying 'first it turned to friendship, then it turned into lust,' but it was more than that...something else..."

"Like you chose to take our friendship to the next level, to be more than friends?" said the hothead.

"Something like that," said Meia. "It's a bit embarrassing at first, given how I am, but...I was more of a leader than a lover...at first, in your case, it didn't seem fair, stealing you away from Jura after she died, and taking advantage, yet a part of me had a crush on you even before you Jura had her crush on you...it just ain't my way of thinking..."

"In any case," said the Van pilot, "fate had you pick up where Jura left off...so, what happens now?"

"After we settle some stuff in the bridge," said the head Dread pilot, "we'll do what it takes to clean a path through the asteroid field head so we can head to our next stop, Mars; the General said there's a major PSE base hidden in an inactive volcano crater known as Olympus Mons. She and Gascogne will outline the rest of the details."

"Bout time we got back in action," said the now bolsterous hothead, who was getting up. "it's payback time for what that Ms. Pereira did to my Van and our Dreads."

"Well...," said Meia, who placed the tip of her finger under the hothead's chin, drawing her face close to his,  
"let's spend a few minutes before we do..."

From there, the two shared a slow yet passionate kiss as they held each other, their bodies molded...

Brittany Pereira was livid.

Her plans to settle her score with Misty and the rest of the Vandread crew, and above all, losing The Apocalypse Enigine, that was bad as it was, but losing her flagship as well as a handful of Scottish dissidents was...well, the unkindest cut of all. Indeed, the power of the Blue Pyxis had also transported all her belongings in a warehouse in the Bele Kreuz base; it had been recently been transferred into her new chambers in the carrier Kurzester, which along with the rest of the carrier fleet, had just started its hyperspace jump from Jupiter and right now, the PSE Empress had entered the council chamber where Admiral Xaltocan Chimali, Rear Admiral Ilyo Eos, the General of the Kurzester, Sarah Sibilant, who looked like Wendee Lee, the Kurzester Major Tzitziili Sarabande, a blonde with cornrow braids, and a new arrival, Brigadier Orinda Tarkus, who looked like a teenage version of Gascogne, all waiting at the council table when Pereira arrived.

"Listen up, all of you," the PSE ruler said crisply, "we were bloody lucky we, the remaining, were able to make it into space and calculate the last known trajectory of the Hohenzollern-to think we must wipe out one of my own creations in a vendetta after so many defections from the Bele Kreuz staff-talk 'bout fair weather friends, after the bloody XEW levels were depleted."

"We live in troubled times as it is," said Admiral Chimali. "No doubt the Vandread crew is getting better and better."

"Better?" said Rear Admiral Eos. "Our numbers had critically dwindled to 50%; least we got our remaining carrier fleet,  
now that the Cygnus came to replace the Hohenzollern, and with our fleet twelve strong again, it'll take a matter of time before we come out from hyperspace."

"Is that so?" said Brigidier Tarkus. "Welcome to the grand illusion."

"Illusion my butt," said General Sibilant. "Where can they fly off to now, as if I didn't know...other than Sector 27, in Olympus Mons on Mars?"

"A logical choice well spoken," said the Empress, "since Mars is on the way to Earth...that is, if they can get past the asteroid field."

"We'll be ready for them," said Major Sarabande. "We've been fools for so long, we went from public enemy #1 to public enemy #9 1/2."

"Public enemy #9 1/2, ay, yi, yi, yi, yi...," said a disillusioned Brittany. "After today, those L7 sods will wish they hadn't stuck their fork in our toaster...oy vey...we'll alert the XEW plant staff at Sector 27 to post extra heavier guard security there."

Before starting their mission, Meia and Hibiki went to the bridge tower of the Hohenzollern (and marveled at what was happening here) and were greeted first by Dita, who gushed, "Yay, welcome back, Hibiki!" and hugged the hothead.

"Welcome back, team mate," said Gascogne. "Hail the lead actor making a comeback."

"How you feeling, Lord Prince?" said Misty.

"Like I feel strong to pull the arms off a Tarakan Fitswilly," said the Van pilot. "I thought my get up and go got up and went but I am back in the pink."

"There's the spirit, 'Biki," said Cara, who did a few cartwheels round the bridge.

"It's good to see you functional again," said Tsitra.

"My sentiments the same," said Gie Bele.

"So, we meet at last, laddie," said a bolsterous Norton, who clapped the surprised Hibiki (and nearly flattened the mechanic in the process),  
adding, "We heard you were a master of the Tarak Vanguard."

"Still am," said Hibiki, who got his breath back after having it knocked out. "Say, what's with the skirts?"

"Skirts?" said Montgomery. After a laugh he shared with his brothers, he said, "Laddie, in case you forgot, these 'skirts' ain't skirts, they're kilts-  
which we laddies and lassies from Scotland wear!"

"Seems like you haven't any inkling to the traditions of Scotland since our founders from Earth came to Ganymede years ago," said Andrew, "before the dark times...before the PSE."

"Aye...," said Nathan, "but no matter; we'll place that Empress and her Empire 12 feet under for what they did to our town, our wives, and ourselves!"

"Just a minute, you jokers," said the hothead, holding up a hand, "if you wanna tangle with ol' fathead Brittany Pereira, you should be prepared-she wiped out several people, along with my wife. We all learned the hard way she don't play favorites, for sure."

"Hoot mon," said Norton darkly, "but don't worry bout a thing, all the same-we'll still give those PSE lassie devils a shellackin', one 'an all!"

"So what're we waiting for?" said Gascogne. "Meia, you, Hibiki and the rest of the Vandread team head out there and pulverize those asteroids ahead so we can pass through; the War Machine can fly over that mess, but we got to blast through. And good fortune comes to those the act well in the stage. Any questions?"

"None that won't last," said Dita.

"With apologies to Mills Lane and Marvin Gaye," said Meia, "let's get it on."

"An' get it over with," said Hibiki, "I got a lot of respects to pay to Britt an her bunch."

"As do we," said Gie Bele, " for all the grief she caused."

"I just hope my debut as a Dread pilot works out well to the end," said Tsitra.

"Why shouldn't it?" said Misty.

"A lot of reasons, what else?" said Cara.

"Just as long as you Vandread lassies and laddies," said Norton, "remember to buckle your knickers."

At first, Tsitra and Gie Bele were skeptical when it came to making their Vandread debut, but Gascogne assured them not to worry, to follow the power of the Blue Pyxis. But then, for the rest of the group, it wasn't easy when it came to making the debut of their post Jura and Barnette Vandread team. For Hibiki,  
he was almost tempted to go back to smoking, as his MP3 player played Alice Cooper's You & Me, until Meia came on the comm, saying, "OK, jokers, let's do it for Jura and Barnette! TAKE OFF!"

It was the second time the team had launched their ships from the Hohenzollern's hangars as they streaked out into space, towards the asteroids, almost the size of planets themselves, and soon the Dreads were blasting away at the huge rocks, while the hothead used his Vanguard to sword swing to break up his share of asteroids, cleaning a path. Indeed, spurred on by the team's success, the phaser cannons, plasma torpedoes and missiles from the Hohenzollern, the Synthesis (using its planet obliterating Megga Cannon) and the rest of The Cornerstone Empire fleet soon joined in their share of pulverizing the field.

"YAY! Bust 'em up, Taarak style!" said a bouyed up Hibiki, who was understandably pleased to be back in action after so long. "It'll be duck soup, the nuts, easy as pie."

"Then let's see how our new Vandread team can do," said Meia. Hibiki, you and the Major make with Vandread Gie Bele, ASAP!"

"Step on it," said the hothead, as his MP3 player played Elvis doing Return to Sender, "Meia ain't joking!"

From there, the Vanguard and the Major's Diamante united, forming Vandread Gie Bele, a glossy green feathered serpent with wings, with a pyramid shaped bubble above the ice blue eyes, where the hothead and Gie Bele were side by side at their controls.

"If the Empress could only see that now," said the Major, "but then it's a matter of time before she does. So where's the ultimate weapon for Vandread Gie Bele?"

"Must be that green colored crystal here," said the Van pilot. "Let's see what it does..."

When Hibiki stabbed the switch, the two ice blue eyes glowed a brilliant blue white, then strobed two beams that converged into one huge beam that pulverized 48% of the field of asteroids, a moment that nearly took all by surprise.

"Did we do THAT...?" said Gie Bele.

"Incredible...," said Meia.

"If the Empress had that," said Dita, "the whole galaxy would be her dinner table."

"If not her buffet," said Misty.

"Right said," said Tsitra.

"What will we think of next?" said Cara.

"What will we think of next?" said Hibiki. "I say let's kick asteroids!"

And with that, the hothead hit the main trigger and the concentrated blasts from the winged serpent swept out field after field of asteroids, then the Van pilot said, "Now let's debut Vandread Tsitra," before detatching from the Major and connecting with Tsitra's Dread; save for the gloss gold color and its owner, everything else was the same as Vandread Jura, only it was a gold crab.

"What do you think, Hibiki?" said the nonplussed General.

"Same as before," said the glum hothead. "I wonder...,"

Reaching out, the Van pilot stabbed the trigger for the Vandread's ultimate weapon; the weapon operated like it did before, but now the energy blasts flew off in tendril serpent like patterns seeking out their targets and pulverizing every asteroid in sight.

"Did I just...?" said an astonished Hibiki. "That never happened before..."

"Not until now," said Tsitra. "Seems like we just upgraded it a notch."

"What do you mean notch?" said Gascogne on the comm. "It's over 9000! Let's give them a real show!"

"Give them a show?" said Misty. "Make it a big time stage production."

And all the Dreads and the Van did just that, froming a red gloss samurai type form dubbed as Omega Vandread, and with its wave of ion energy rading out ward, the last of the asteroids were wiped out, ensuring an easy path for all.

"Take a bow, troops," said Meia, "Team Vandread's reborn just like the Phoenix."

"Sweets for the sweet!" chirped Dita.

"Yo," said Cara, "youse don't take vacations much, do youse, Dita?"

"Och, you see?" said Norton over the comm. "Serves you right for not rememberin' to buckle your knickers."

Now that the Vandread crew had a ship that could take off and land, like the Hohenzollern, they could enter the Mars atmosphere-what there was of it, anyway, because the planet had a thin atmosphere, so the carrier had to use its vacuum sheilds on the hangar doors. Eventually, the commandeered carrier landed in the rocky and sandy orange landscape, a mile from the vast towering crater that was Olympus Mons, the crew aware that the enemy fleet could be on the other side of the crater.

"You see?" said Hibiki as he stared out the bridge windows at the orangey landscape. "I told you Mars was orange and not red."

"Sounds like 'The Red Planet' is somewhat of a misnomer," agreed Meia. "But go figure all the same."

"What do you think, General?" said Gascogne. "No doubt, The Empress and her crew may be well hidden in and outside the crater."

"Quite right," replied Tsitra. "As per Imperial standard procedure, a few carriers guard the hidden city fort within the crater,which is one to two miles deep, the outside perimeter under constant sensor and visual survellance, with safe guards such as hidden guns and land mines, along with energy barriers surrounding the crater without and within."

"And even if anyone got past a carrier or two guarding Olympus Mons-and no one ever did, to our knowledge-there's still the matter of those said safeguards," said Major Taltli.

"And also consider the fact that outside these ships like ours," added Misty. "is that Mars carries a thin atmosphere, so we'll need environment suits with life support to breathe."

"Och," said Andrew, "No doubt that crater's got more than a wee bit of antiaircraft weaponry to stave off any ships that try to fly in."

"The whole place is well guarded like Fort Knox," said Nathan. "and check out that sign they got out there."

How right he was; 200 yards from the Hohenzollern, was standing out in the dirt, a half dusty post with a stenciled red on white sign that read: ABSOLUTELY NO TRESSPASSING BEYOND HERE WITHIN 4 FEET! DEATH! KEEP OUT! PROPERTY OF THE PEREIRA STAR EMPIRE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. After that was a vast landscape of orange dust and rocks, yet everyone knew just what kind of dangers lay hidden in there.

Whistling, Montgomery said, "Hoot, mon. Just what's out there anyway?"

"Beyond that sign," said Cara, "if memory serves me right, in additon to the sound/visual detection and survellance systems, there's a lot of 0.1 megaton land mines in four different versions-the normal exploding kind, a poison gas bomb, a sharpnel type and one that is what gives the most trouble; it first flashes a series of xenon strobe lights to confuse youse, then it explodes. after that, is a series of hidden spikes that can pop out and stab and cut youse; if the cuttin' doesn't get youse, those razor sharp spikes can also poison youse. Then there's a wave of phaser cannons for both surface and air purposes, hidden in the sand along with missile launchers and sound cannons that can shake youse up. For that matter, beyond that, is a soundwave field formed by hidden projectors, and anyone that blunders into that, is buffeted by 1600 cycle per second sound vibration currents. Last of all is a series of energy barriers and disintergration fields-walk into there, and youse can dissolve like" -here, the cheerleader snapped her fingers-"that."

Shuddering, Nathan said, "Sorry we asked. If we try stepping into that landscape, we'll all be kissin' our blarney stones goodby."

"Sorry?" said Norton. "No need to be sorry, mon, we ain't allowin' no lethal defenses of that PSE bastard stand in our way, you know that?"

"But with all those geegaws," said Dita, "trying to get past all that could be suicide."

"Even so," said Gascogne, "getting past those traps is like evading the critics when you get ready for your biggest play in the theater. Anyhow, though the odds may be stacked against you, there may be a hidden path."

Hibiki, who had been staring out one of the wide windows of the bridge and out beyond the coppery lanscape, dwarfed by the giant crater, spoke up with, "If flying over and travel on foot is no go, we'll tunnel UNDER the danger zone, into the crater base if I use my Van to dig a tunnel?"

"But how?" said a doubtful Meia. "You planning on using your Vanguard sword to dig?"  
"Just what I was thinking of," said the hothead. "I mean not all of the Mars dirt is solid rock."

"It just may work," said a thoughtful Gascogne, "if we can blaze a trail under the best and shortest way to the base without breaching its life supports."

Already hunkered over the digital map table, Tsitra and Gie Bele were calling up digital images of the Mars map and its crater wich a had an intricate layout outline of the defenses and offenses as well as the traps in overhead and side views, the General saying, "Of all the underground paths to take to the base, here's the best place, south by southeast here, which is where we're at."

"The other end," said the Major, "should come out in a thermal exhaust tunnel to drain excess heat from the base reactors; along the walls should be some airlocks, used for when repairs in the tunnel become needed."

"From there," said Misty, "we should be in the city base's engineering spaces; the XEW plant is on the other side of the said base."

"Then it's official," declared Gascogne. "We'll arrange it with The Cornerstone Empire and we'll rendezvous at the spot, then make like Dig Dug, ASAP, dig?"

In the past, unless he was merging his Van with any of the Dreads to form a Vandread, Hibiki flew solo, but now, he was sharing his piloting space with the brothers Macneil, and believe you me, five people in a Vanguard was like that of a sardine can. That and the fact Hibiki and the brothers were in air suits which could be bulky.

"Get off my foot! said Montgomery.

"Och, you got to use some pit stop!" said Nathan.

"So it wore out, big deal!" said Andrew.

"Then use a wee bit of my pit stop when we get inside the base, mon!" said Norton.

"Stop $^&*#% breathin' on me!" groused Hibiki, who grimaced to the point of nausea. "UGH! Your breath STINKS! It's like Saturday Night In Scotland! UG!"

"That smell attracts our people," said Andrew, "and besides, you're referrin' to the smell of haggis, the national food of Scotland-comprised of sheep intestines and such, in a sheep's stomach."

"SHEEP? UG! You're goin' to make me throw up!" yelled the hothead, handing each of the brothers Macneil a Listermint which they each took, thus freshening their breath. That dealt with, the Van pilot said,  
"Tell me again as to why you had to squeeze in here with me."

"Dinna you heard what Gascogne said beforehand, mon?" said Nathan. "Your Vanguard was the only craft that could carry 4 to 5 people, and it was time we bring upon that devil lassie Pereira of the PSE some payback, dinna you know? Just be thankful the Vandread lassies will need all the help they get, not just from you, laddie, but from the rest of the crew as well as The Cornerstone Empire, aye?"

"Aye, indeed," said Montgomery. "Well, let's get with it and remember to buckle our knickers, along with our trows as well."

No sooner had the Scotsman had said that, Gascogne said on the comm, "Hibiki, it's time, it's your show, so get on with it-and remember to smile, got it?"

"Whatever," muttered the hothead, before saying to Meia on the comm, "OK, just follow me down,. it's time to dig, dig?"

"Roger that," said a determined Meia, "let 'er rip!"

After he and the brothers got on their hood like air helmets, Hibiki started his Van, unsheathing his sword and hacking and digging into the orange dirt, the Dreads following, as he hacked down 15 feet deep, then burrowed on ahead, digging with the Van sword, making a tunnel under the enemy traps, speeding to the core of the underground base, as the hothead's MP3 player playing Gary Myrick & The Figures' She Talks In Stereo, until they came to a stop at a pipe like wall, 15 feet high, and an equal 15 feet wide.

"Hoot mon," said a breathless Norton, "the legend WAS right...the laddie is indeed the master of the Taarak Vanguard...  
and the best part is...he remembered to buckle his knickers."

"Y' see?" said Hibiki. "Told you I could do it."

"Yay, Mister-UH!-I mean, Hibki!" chirped Dita. "Caves can be found in the side of a bluff, which is just what those PSE punks will be-a big bluff."

"Words to live by, eh, Dita?" said Meia. "OK, you and Hibiki form Vandread Dita and blast through that wall."

"OK but first...," said the Van pilot who turned to the brothers and said, "OK, you jokers, amscray-that last thing I want is you crowding Dita an me in the cramped Vandread ahead."

"Aye, we don't blame you, laddie," said Nathan. "No one wants to stink up a Vandread, let alone a lassie like Dita with our B.O., aka body odor."

"I resent that!" protested Andrew.

After the suited brothers exited the Van and ran to a safe spot, Hibiki merged his Van with Dita's Dread for Vandread Dita, and aimed their weapons at the wall.

"HEAT 'EM UP!" barked the hothead.

"SMOKIN'!" replied the UFO otaku, who wasted no time in slamming her fist on the firing switch that shot out a pulse of Vandread Dita firepower that blew out a huge hole in the wall; beyind it was the interior of a long concrete tunnel pipe with slight heat pouring out from there.

"Now THAT is how you open the door-without saying Richard," said the mechanic with a grin.

"A superb stage production in every respect," said Gascogne on the comm. "Get down and get with it-Meia, you and Hibiki lead your teams as prearranged."

"Will do," said Meia, who added to Hibiki & Co., "OK, jokers, let's play backdoor blues."

That said, the Vandread team and the brothers Macneil scuttled through the rubble, in the hole and were in the cavern like pipe tunnel of the dark long thermal exhaust tunnel, the thin air half stagant with heat, as the group, their life support suits' cooling hard pressed to cool down. For that matter, they didn't stop running till they reached a steel rectangular door, its stenciled words reading: AIRLOCK #38. STAFF ONLY. A pause, and then Misty entered a code she had long ago into a recessed keypad and the door opened, leading into the said airlock;  
after the group entered, she sealed the outer door and opened the inner door, bringing in cool air-air, no doubt mixed with traces of XEW gas. After they took off their suits, the group peered down a greem marbled hall with shelves of potted plants of different types, Misty said,  
"Quiet, and let's get to the task."

"Fine," said Meia. "Me, the General, the Major, Dita and Cara will knock out the electric power plant without fouling up the bease's life supports,  
Hibiki, you, Misty and the Macneils wipe out that XEW plant; we'll meet back here soon as we finish, but remember, we're on the PSE's turf, so be on your toes."

"I just wanna stick it to those PSE punks for all the times I was stuck," said a grim Hibiki "So what if I wasn't able to stick it to Ol' Rat Bastard Rabat an' Stinky Onesie Utan? Least I can stick it to those jail bait jokers of Ms. Pereira's."

"So I believe can we," agreed Montgomery.

"Whatever," said the blue haired Dread leader. "Let's get started."

On that, the two groups parted in different directions in the plant decorated hall.

The Kurzester and the rest of the Minotaur class carrier fleet of the PSE came out from hyperspace prior to reaching Mars orbit when officer Cici Kano said to the Empress Brittany, "We got a priority communique from Olympus Mons Governor Wright."

"Onscreen," said Pereira.

Soon as the triangle screen came, Governor Geraldine Wright, who looked like Briana Palencia on steroids spoke, "Empress, one of our airlock silent alarms,  
#38, in fact, went off; we used our hidden CCTV system and saw what looked like eleven people in futuristic hood like suits, but when they took them off, they looked like that of the Vandread team you so described."

"Vandread team...," said Pereira, "just as I had hoped...Governor, order all sections on alert and reinforce the Emerald Guard on all crucial sections such as the power generators and the XEW plants. Also prepare for our arrival as well and alert the landing dock staff. That is all. Pereira, out."

"Understood, Empress," said the Governor. "Wright, out."

After the screen vanished, Brittany turned to Admiral Chimali and said, "Inform the rest of the fleet to surround Mars to ensure that neither a cat nor a mouse, in effect,  
gets off the planet, then prepare the Kurzester for landing and rendezvous near our Olympus Mons Sector 27 base."

Having slipped by the first battalion of Emerald Guard troops, Hibiki's team slipped into an air vent and with Misty leading, were set for their destination.

"Say, what was up with all those plants in the hallways, all that vegatation?" said the hothead. "I never saw so many plants."

"Mostly for extra life support," said the blue haired pilot. "As a rule, plants take in carbon dioxide and give out air."

"Carbon dioxide?" said Norton. "I thought you said carbon monoxide."

"It's a totally different matter, mon." said Montgomery. "On the other hand, I remember that one revolutionary that fought the PSE and lived to tell it-what was his name? Oh-Zinger."

"No, it's Sanger, Pete Sanger, mon," said Nathan.

"Sanger?" said Andrew. "I thought he was that politicially minded singer. Get it? Sanger the singer."

"No, laddie, you're thinking of Pete Seeger," said Andrew.

"Then there never was a Zinger at all?" said Nathan.

"Never was, laddie," said Norton. "The only Zinger we know was a bakery cake,"

"Poor Zinger," said Andrew mournfully.

"Oh, hang that, we've got a job to do," said Montgomery, "right, Hibiki?"

"Darn straight," said a grim Hibiki, "and wipe out that ^&$#%* XEW plant."

"Which, by the way," said Misty, "is up ahead."

Indeed there was a grill which upon peering through, the group could see only a handful of Emerald Guard staff at their controls without a care, almost as if they had no idea what was in the works.

"Looks like a fair amount of troops," said Misty,"but if we stun them fast, we might pull it off, but only if we hurry."

"Let's get it on," said the hothead, who opened the grill, and jumped down to the floor, the others coming on behind, unaware that a legion of Emerald Guard shock troops, which had been in listening distance outside the plant, as well in the hidden niches of the said plant, were ready for them, so it was no wonder those said troops would step out from their hiding places, their crossbows all trained on Hibiki & Co., their leader, a bespecticled blonde with long hair to her neck with the rank of seargent and the name of Isa Yo Jo. And right now, she barked out, "FREEZE! You Vandread losers...drop your weapons if you wanna know what's good for you...!"

"Och...," moaned Andrew in despair, "far too many to fight and with so much enemy firepower, that means back to the lockup."

"You don't know me that well, do you?" said Hibiki, who had his crossbow, set for max firepower.

"Hey, didn't you ^&$#*%s hear me?" demanded Yo Jo. "I SAID DROP YOUR WEAPONS! OR ELSE!"

Hibiki, on the other hand, replied by aiming his crossbow up-and blasting out the overhead lights, putting the vast chambers in the dark, resulting in confusion.

"Stop them!" yelled Seargent Yo Jo.

Already the dark room was full of shouting, green phaser blasts and blow ups, and at one point, Misty called out, "Run! Out that open door!"

And run they did, Misty leading, followed by the brothers Mac Neil, Hinki trailing behind, since the legion that had guarded the outside was now inside with their fellow Emerald Guard troops, running down a hall, just as the Seargent stuck her head out, and pointing in that direction, yelled, "Get them, troops! They musn't escape, lest they ruin all!"

So far, the group had rounded a corner as the PSE Emerald Guard took to getting a few potshots that the blue haired newbie and the Mac neils evaded...and Hibiki? Given his arrogance if not his carelessness,  
he wasn't so lucky; just before he had a chance to turn the corner to join his Vandread compadres, Isa got in a single stun blast that hit the Van pilot from behind before he fell to the floor, slumped up against the wall, just as Yo Jo showed up, with her Emerald Guard platoon in tow, stopping before the inert hothead.

"They got away," said one of the troops.

"No matter," said Isa, who looked down at her share of human booty. "Inform the Governor and the Empress we've got our first bounty of the day."

Misty and the brothers had eluded the Emerald Guard by hiding in a nearby storage room, hiding in the crates while the troops searched the chamber till one of them said, "No one here."

"Maybe they hid in another chamber or changed direction," said another.

"Well, let's take a look," said the first. "We'll try the kitchens."

After the enemy troops had exited, the blue haired gal stuck her head out from one of the crates and said, "It's safe." After climbing out from the said crate the group tried to get themselves together, until Norton said in surprise,  
"Where's Hibiki? Wasn't he with you?"

"Not me," said Nathan.

"Me neither," replied Montgomery.

"Me neither neither, said Andrew. "He must've got lost."

"And no doubt right into a PSE trap," said a glum Misty. "Now we got two jobs: stopping that XEW plant AND saving Hibiki; that plant we've GOT to wipe out-Meia's group and a lot of other people depend on that!"

In one of the standard jail cells, the stunned Hibiki lay on a bunk while Governor Wright, Sgt. Yo Jo and two other Emerald Guard thugs stood by, Wright saying, "You did well, Yo Jo, in at least bringing back the Empire's most wanted. "You will truly attain The Order Of Verde for that."

"Thanks," said Isa. "Now I can count my money for a well did task. I had no idea I'd bag the notorious Hibiki Tokai; I heard he was a bad boy on his home planet before he met up with those Mejere pirates...strange how all that worked out."

Just then, one of the troopers barked, "SECTION ATTENTION!" At that, the other guard, Isa and Geraldine snapped to attention, shouting, "HAIL, EMPRESS BRITTANY!" just as the Empress arrived; she looked over and said, "You did well, Governor, there will be an extra add to your paycheck."

"Don't thank me," said the Governor, "thank Seargent Yo Jo, here, she did it single handed."

"That I did," said Isa, pumping up her fist.

Coming to where the knocked out hothead was laying on the bunk, the evil Empress stared before saying, "At last...  
the time's come to finish an L7 sod lke you off for good, and in a fitting way, like burning secret papers suggesting the removal of the last remains of a pest ridden past. Hibiki Tokai, the time's come for your ultimate death sentence."

"The electric torture rack, Empress?" said Wright

"No, no," said Pereira, sensing an inspiration. "The Furnace, The Furnace Of Doom, reserved for the most heinous of crimes. Governor, you and the Seargent take L7 Tokai with a platoon of The Emerald Guard down to the Furnace chamber, and arrange a lethal accident, for all the Empire to see."

"Understood," chorused the other two ladies before they picked up the Van pilot and carried him out from the cell. After that, Brittany switched on her weapon's built in comm and spoke, "Computer, arrange a broadcasted bulletin of Hibiki Tokai's death sentence for The Furnace Of Doom, and that tickets to be sold for 15 ingots at Governor Wright's office and to give a special holiday for all staff in Sector 27 by broadcasting the session on all bulletin screens. That is all."

Back at the Sector 27 XEW plant, Admiral Chimali and Rear Admiral Eos ran up to the Emerald Guard troops guarding the plant entrance, the former saying, "We've found the remaining Vandread dissidents-they're hiding in one of the containers in the gerneral freight storage bays."

"It stands to reason," said the Rear Admiral, "that if we sneak up on their hiding place and chrge inside there, we may take them by surprise."

"Well commendable," said one of the troopers. "We'll take some of our squads and nail those dissidents."

Upon arriving at the storage bay, lined with several tall ribbed containers, Admiral Chimali and Rear Admiral Eos led the squads to one container, its doors ajar.

"Let's take them by surprise," said the Admiral to the trooper in charge. "You lead the raid."

Nodding, the head trooper gestured to her squads to stand by, the carefully opened the doors before she and the squads charged into the container...and that was when Chimali and Eos slammed the doors on them and locked it, running off while inside, one of the troopers said, "Who turned out the lights?"

"There ain't no Vandread dissidents in here!" said another.

"We was robbed!" said yet another.

Indeed, there was a lot of shouting in that container that day beofre the Emerald Guard squads blasted out from their jail-eight minutes later.

Misty and the brothers Macneil had heard the commotion of the the troops running past their hiding place, then they sneaked a look down the hallway before the blue haired newbie said, "Whatever it was, seems a lot of people...I wonder if the troops in the plant heard the noise?"

"One way to be sure," said Norton. "We'll risk it."

"And be griddled by those Emerald Guard bastards?" said Nathan. "Och, that be suicide."

"I say we take a chance," said Andrew. "We canna just stand there like lazy useless slobs."

After some debating, the group wound up back at the XEW plant, only there were a miminum number of shocktroopers; those were easily stunned by the crossbows of Misty and the brothers.

"How'd that get to be so easy?" said Montgomery. "The last time we were there, that place had several platoons of Emerald Guard lassies, and now, it's just a skeleton crew."

"That can be easy to answer," said Admiral Chimali, with Rear Admiral Eos in tow, having entered the chamber. "we just ruduced those number in our favor-and your favor as well, to close down that XEW plant."

Seeing the most two higher officials of of the Hohenzollern, Misty paled as did the brothers,, their weapons at the ready for a fight, the blue haired newbie saying, "Admiral...Rear Admiral! Least there's five on our side, to ensure the odds., and we won't give up-not without a fight!"

Holding up a hand, Ilyo said, "Stop, lay down your guns! We come in peace!"

"In peace?" said Norton. "A likely story."

"Now's no time to make you trust Ilyo and me," said Xaltocan, "right now, the first priority is closing down that plant for good; we'll explain afterwards."

From there, the Admiral, the Rear Admiral and Misty began pulling switches and levers, turning off all of the plant, after that, they and the brothers blasted everything in sight, spelling doom for the XEW plant...and sowing the seeds for revolution in Sector 27.

In a vent far from the one Misty's team was in, Meia led the way with Dita, Cara, Tsitra and Gie Bele in tow till they reached a grill which overlooked the power plant-along with the dozens of Emerald Guard troops, their weapons always at the ready.

"What do you think, General?" said the Dread leader.

"No doubt there's legions of Emerald Guard troops hidden from within and without the power station," replied Tsitra, an uneasy look on her face. "Unless we had better odds, a larger team and a plan, it's just way too much firepower on their side."

"Our only hope," said Gie Bele, 'is that Hibiki's team sabotaged that XEW plant; that should result in a lot of defections among andmake the odds easier...wait, do you sniff something in the air?"

"I do...," said Cara, " like the traces of XEW seem to be diminshing...that means they knocked out the plant...!"

"Then that means they've done it...!" said Dita. "That was my bro, Hibiki!"

"It'll be some time before everyone recovers from the effects," said the Major, "so what's our next move?"

In reply, the main doors opened and in strode the Admiral and the Rear Admiral, the former saying, "We bring you a special greeting of high value."

"A greeting?" said the head trooper. "Coming from such esteemed high officials like you, we consider it a honor. So what's your greeting?"

You can imagine what must had been running through the minds of the Emerald Guard, when Xaltocan and Ilyo aimed their crossbows at the legions, the latter saying,  
"Our greeting is 'stick 'em up', all joking aside."

"From just you two high officials?" scoffed the trooper. "Don't make me laugh! The idea of you two doing so is treasonous, if not unheard of and unlikely-just you two against 30 of our guard? You've got to be joking, I mean, the odds stand on our side."

At that moment, Misty and the brothers Macneil ran in, with their weapons drawn, but that did little to reduce the confidence of the legions, their leader saying, "Some odds-you can't tell me that. Besides, what happened to the legions standing guard out side the power station?"

"Let's just say," replied Misty, "that they came to their senses and deserted their posts."

"Deserted?" said the leader. "No matter, we can still get the upper hand."

Suddenly, the vent grill opened and out jumped Meia, Tsitra, Gie Bele, Dita and Cara, aiming their weapons at their enemy.

"They're still on our side," said the guard leader, "with 30 of ourselves and 12 of you, so we've got the upper hand."

"What do you mean, 'we'?" said another Emerald Guard trooper, before she and 19 other troppers aimed their guns at the remaining 10 minions of the PSE, one of which was the head trooper.

"What, a rebellion already?" blurted out the leader. "The XEW plant-it's been sabotaged like the others!"

"Quite right," said Admiral Chimali, "so drop your weapons and up with them, up, up, up! Get going!"

"You heard the Admiral," said Meia, who was surprised by the turn of events, if not yet another defection, "let's go! Move it!"

After the remaining enemy had dropped their crossbows, the head trooper could only moan, "You dissidents don't fight fair..."

Turning to the recovering troopers, Rear Admiral Eos said to them, "Take them to the storage bay and lock them up-and keep it quiet, no one must notice!"

After the enemy minions were marched away, Meia could only say, "Seems the General and the Major weren't the only ones defecting."

"Only until that dreadful plant in Bele Kreuz," said the Admiral, "did Ilyo and me come to our senses after coming out from the effects of the XEW did we choose to make amends for misdeeds, starting with discreetly using HEPA nose filters we used on missions where nonoxious fumes were a problem, in an effort to ensure we would never be brainwashed by that dreadful gas of Miss Pereia's."

"That, along with the use of the concentrated air pills," added Ilyo, "which we use when traversing in Mars' thin atmosphere, all that combined, enabled me an Xaltocan to combat the gas effects, while we, as the saying goes, play like we were under the effects, until the time was right to defect...and so help me, we could kick ourselves for having served for that devil diva known as Pereira for so long..."

"On that, I dinna blame you lassies," agreed Norton. "That Brittany Pereira is so full of herself."

"A-A-A-A-MEN!" chorused Montgomery, Nathan and Andrew.

"Well, what're we waiting for?" said Meia, "let's knock out those sheilds and defenses for the benefit of The Cornerstone Empire and for Gascogne!"

"First, we got to save Hibiki from those PSE punks," interjected Misty, "on account he was busted by those Emerald Guard thugs."

"Hibiki? YIPE!" blurted Dita.

"I knew the laddie could never stay out of trouble," said Andrew.

"Great, more work to do," grumbled Meia.

No sooner had the Dread leader said that, the female vocoderized voice spoke up: "Attention all Imperial staff, stand by for a visiual bulletin." That was followed by some of the power plant's control panel screens, in addition to the tri screens as well, all depicting Hibiki in a 3 way mug shot, while the voice added, "Behold the public enemy #1 dissident that caused a lot of grief for our Empire, now set for the ultimate death sentence, The Furnace Of Doom. Tickets can be bought now for 15 ingots at Governor Wright's office, while the rest of the Sector 27 staff can have a holiday as we also broadcast the session on all our public bulletin screens. That is all."

After that, all the screens changed to a factory like interior, a clublike setting surronding a elevated railway track that was four feet off from the floor. one end with Hibiki manacled to a grilled bed on wheels set on the track rails, where the Empress was standing behind,  
with the Kurzester officers as well as several PSE officers nearby. At the other end, twelve feet down at the far end of the factory, was where the rail track fed into a fifteen foot high furnace, with a stamped black and red on white sign above the furnace entrance where the railway entered: THE FURNACE OF DOOM. BEWARE! 12,000 DEGREES! Right now, Governor Wright and Sgt. Yo Jo arrived and exchanged greetings with Pereira who said, "Where's Chimali and Eos? They should be there for our moment of triumph."

"I met with them a minute ago," said Isa, "and they were already on the trail of those Vandread dissidents; they'd report in as soon as they rounded up the rest."

"As long as they weren't saying that for some squeamish ruse," said Brittany. "No matter; time to settle the score on the most repulsive sod of all, and get that Tarak bastard out from my hair once and for all, before the stun effects wear off." Turning to the inert Van pilot, the PSE ruler declared, "If I had my way, I'd ensure you did more than just speak and spell. Farewell, L7 sod Hibiki Tokai, before I change my mind..."

With one big shove, Pereira pushed the bed, hothead and all down the railway, which rolled on the rails, like that of a roller coaster,  
before he coasted to a stop, deep in The Furnace Of Doom, a five foot squae steel chamber covered with counless flame thrower like burners, all aimed at the Van pilot, ready to belch out many gas flames intent on incinerating the knocked out Hibiki.

"All pressure zone mikes ready and in place?" the Empress asked.

"All around the furnace, at your request," said the Governor, "for the finest in duodecaphonic digital sound."

"Now we wait for the power plant staff to prime the furnace gas," said the Empress, who had taken her place at a control box near her seat, her finger poised over a red button marked IGNITE, "then we torch Tokai..."

Back in the Furnace, the effects of the stun blast had worn off, Hibiki waking up, and as soon as he could, he muttered, "What hit me? What's happened...?" Then looking down at the manacles that held his wrists and ankles in thrall, he grumbled, "What the ^&$%*#? Those PSE devils...! They got me in here...wait-I smell gas, gas for flamethrowers...like that of a barbeque...they had a barbeque and didn't invite me...because I've been elected to BE the barbeque...! That *#%$^& PSE!"

Trying to wrest free from one of the manacles proved to be daunting, so the hothead turned his head to his right shoulder and with his teeth,  
pulled out a long wire, much like the one Gascogne had in her mouth, only, he used it to pick at the lock of the said manacle, aware, that it would take time...

"We'll never make it in time to help the poor laddie now," said Norton. "Och, that devil lassie Pereira's gone too far!"

"But there is hope," said Admiral Chimali, "in the form of an ancillary exhaust ventilator passage that connects with the inside of The Furnace and that service htach near that panel over there; as a rule, it takes time to build up and compress the gas used for The Furnace before it can be ignited so we've got a minute or so before The Empress pushes the ignition trigger."

One of the recovered officers, who looked like G.I. Joe's Lady Jaye, bearing the rank of Officer Terrapin Gorshin, said, "I found the auxilary controls for The Furnace; I can try to turn off the gas and buy some time."

"Do that," said Rear Admiral Eos, who had just opened a port door near a section of pipes and valves; inside was a crawl space large for someone petite to enter.

Peering down the passage, Meia studied it for a moment, and said, "Dita, you're up, get in there get Hibiki safe, ASAP before the Empress lights that Furnace."

"You can depend on me, mon capitaine," said the UFO otaku as she started to crawl into the passeage.

"And remember, Dita," called Tsitra, "we'll stay in touch, using the crossbow comms-just stay silent when in the Furnace's blast chamber, because the Empress likes to have that literally wired for sound."

"So if she hears you make any sound," added Gie Bele, " she'll get wise and finish you and your brother at the same time."

"I'll remember that, I hope," said Dita, who craweld in, and headed down the passage.

"Good luck, Dita," said Misty.

"Godspeed, lassie," said Montgomery.

"Better hurry, Deet," said Cara. "Knowin' the Empress, she's likely to get itchy with that ignite button pushin' finger."

'I just turned off the gas for the moment," called Officer Gorshin, " but I don't know how long I can keep it off without the Empress suspecting something."

"I just hope Dita hurries," said Meia, "not only for her sake, but for Hibiki's as well."

Meanwhile, in The Furnace's blast chamber, Hibiki had used the wire to undo the last manacle, before climbing off the bed and wondering how to climb out,  
when he spotted Dita crawl out from a tunnel; seeing that, he said, "Dita! So help me, you're a sight to behold!"

"Shh!" hissed to UFO otaku, who clasped her hand over the hothead's mouth.

Staring at the red standby light, Pereira was getting impatient, muttering, "What's with those bloody engineering staff? It's way past the normal wait time for those gas burners to be ready."

Just then, from the speakers of the sound system of The Furnace, came Hibiki saying, "Dita! So help me, you're a sight to behold!"

"What in the #%*$^&...?" said Governor Wright.

"Who was that?" said Sgt. Yo Jo.

"Dita, his sister," said Brittany. "How she got into that Furnace is beyond anyone's guess-no matter...I'll kill two sods with one blast of flame..."

"LIsten," hissed Dita in the Van pilot's ear, "the Empress got the Furnace equipped with a listening device-just be quiet and follow me...! HURRY!"

Not waiting to be told twice, Hibiki followed his sister down the tunnel she had come from, and in record time.

"It's only a matter of time before the Empress gets wise to the delay," said Officer Gorshin. "I can't keep the gas off any longer."

"Hang in there," said the General, "we've got to give them more time."

"Wait, here they come...!" said Meia, just as first Dita and then Hibiki came out from the tunnel, before Misty slammed the hatch back into place, saying,  
"Hurry, gas on!"

"Gas on!" replied the officer.

Spotting the status light change from red to green, indicating The Furnace was ready, the PSE ruler said with satisfaction, "At last...time to fry Hibiki and Dita in one flaming victory! They'll fry and sizzle!"

Stabbing the IGNITE button, the Empress and the others were rewarded with the firey roar, amplified by the sound system, as they could see the yellow orange flames glow in the entrance as well as The Furance's blast chamber, Brittany saying, "All too easy...at least it's two less L7 sods to deal with..."

That was too close...but Dita saved her Van pilot sibling from one hack of a hot spot. Even so, the PSE ruler's likely to get burned when she gets wind that the Van man cheated death-again. For that matter, Britt'll have a fit when she discovers her Sector 27 staff turned their backs on her, given time, once the base's air system is devoid of the brainwashing XEW gas. Then there'll be another revolution. Well, the first task of Hibiki & Co. is complte,  
but can they finish the second task, much laess escape fromn Mars-hey, it's also the name of the next chapter.

-a440

Next: Chapter 25: Escape From Mars. 


	26. Escape From Mars

The antics on Mars continue-and again, sorry for such a long hiatus.  
-a440

CHAPTER 25: ESCAPE FROM MARS

Right after the Empress depressed the ignite button, elsewhere in the engineering chamber,  
Misty, Dita, Meia, Hibiki and the rest heard the roar of flames from The Furnace.

"That was too close," breathed the UFO otaku.

"You two got outa there just in time," said Meia, "before you ran into some hot spot."

"An' how," said a breathless Hibiki, who guzzled a bottle of water before regaining his breath,  
then added, "Let's get the heck outa here."

And get the heck they did, for with the XEW depleted, there was an uproar throughout Sector 27, with an exodus of reformed PSE staff, some having shootouts with the loyal criminal PSE staff, yet,  
the en masse ocean of defectors, all jumping in their Diamantes and taking off for who knows where continued at a steady stream, many of them, to the Empress' chagrin, taking off in their Diamantes,  
and evading the enemy ships and firepower; among them, in the midst of the confusion, Admiral Xaltocan Chimali and Rear Admiral Ilyo Eos, piloting their own Diamantes as they flew with a handful of other defectors en route to the Hohenzollern, followed by the Vandread team; now, given the current circumstances at hand, one would think the PSE carrier forces and the loyal remains of their personnel along with those in Sector 27 would get wise and train their weapons upon the escapees and you may be right...but they didn't count without reckoning on the timely arrival of The Cornerstone Empire's fleet, their carriers and Mantas tearing across the sky like gangbusters, all of which was noticed by the Vandread team, as Hibiki's MP3 player played Bryan Adams' I Wanna Be Your Underwear.

"Och," said Norton, "hoorah for the red, white and blooey of The Cornerstone Empire-you can count on them to stave off any would be attempts from the PSE."

"Let's just get our butts back safe where we belong," said the Van pilot, "before we wind up on the casualty list."

"Not quite," said a nonplussed Meia, "we've got to fight our way through that mess and give our allies time to take off into space and calculate a trajectory for the lightspeed jump to Earth."

"Gascogne's orders?" said Cara.

"And the Empress Vanna's," replied Tsitra.

"Must we?" said Dita.

"We most definitely must," said Misty. "You can't finish a job when it's half butted."

"Half butted?" said Nathan.

"Go figure," said Andrew.

And fight through the Vandread team did, blasting at the enemy engines of the Diamantes,  
their pilots ejecting to safety within their control pods, changing from one Vandread to another, Meia first, then Dita, Cara, Misty, Tsitra and Gie Bele; it took time, but only when the Hohenzollern and the CE fleet were safe in Mars orbit, the War Machine Synthesis and the carrier and Manta fleet dealing with much of the enemy bulk, were Hibiki & Co. able to board the former PSE flagship, along with the many defectors, before they were able to make the jump into lightspeed to Earth.

In contrast to the roomy chamber he had in the Nirvana, Hibiki's new apartment, once a suite for one of the Empress' high officials, was even roomier, with all his knick knacks, TV and furniture all around, even as the Hohenzollern hurtled through hyperspace en route to Earth. Right now, after having recovered from one of his cough syrup trips, the Van pilot had a lot of pondering to think of,  
as to what could be done to save the dying mechanized and diseased Earth once the PSE were put away for good...but then, maybe the wizards of The Cornerstone Empire, for all their high tech reputation, could try to heal the planet, maybe terraform it...

Already the hothead's thoughts, after another broadcast of Animals Close Up, With A Wide Angled Lens, were nonplussed by the defection of not only Xaltocan and Ilyo, but also a handful of reformed PSE personnel, increasing the crew quota four times larger than before, considering the Hohenzollern had been their ship as well, so it was a sort of welcome home for them. For that matter, would the Admiral and the Rear Admiral be a big help to them, just as the General and the Major had? One thing was sure: the Empress' inner court of officers was shrinking down gradually to the point where even Ms. Pereira, to quote Gascogne, "didn't have a leg to stand on." Right now, a knock on the door followed with the said Gascogne saying, "Hey, Van superstar, got any bell peppers and beef?"

Coming from his reverie, the mechanic got up and opened the door, welcoming in the current head of the Vandread crew (and it was hard to imagine that she had once been the Nirvana's supply shop head), who said, "I got some time to pass before we finally reach Earth." From there, the lucky Van pilot rounded up some bell peppers and beef, stir fried them with soy sauce while Gascogne did the salad, and with a unopened bottle of Dom Perigon that had been left over from Hibiki and Jura's wedding, the two were feasting.

"I didn't wish to mention it to you till the time was right," said the current head of the Vandread crew, "but your mistake and run in with the PSE, leading to you almost getting burnt to a crisp,  
not to mention your omnipresent arrognace, was unforgivable."

"No one's perfect," said Hibiki, a bit annoyed as he was near finishing his food. "Didn't you say it's human to make a mistake? So I had a rotten day."

"Which is why a lot of stage plays get booed by the audience and critics, because the cast gets so wrapped up in so many mistakes and hotheaded ego trips. I thought I told you not to get so bad tempered all the time and so lost in yourself-and didn't I tell you smile? It's one of the reasons you lost at all my card games," said an equally testy Gascogne.

"So what else is new?" shot back the hothead who calmed down and added, "You can't blame me for what I've been through, losin' Jura, windin' up comatose and nearly fried in a furnace and such..."

"Is that why you still taking those cough syrup trips?" said the officer, "And why you first smoked in the first place?"

"You know any other way to keep my troubles at a safe distance?" said the mechanic, who finished his meal and was near finished with the last of the Dom Perignon.

Her face falling a bit, Gascogne said matter of factly, "Now that I thnk of it...I would too, when it came to losing my sister in the tragedy so long ago...Meia told you that, didn't she?"

"Good guess," replied a sobered Van pilot, sobered because of the said Dom Perignon. "So what of the planet Earth? Given the video we saw of what it looks like now, it's going to be a challenge."

"And no doubt, it'll be the same as before," replied the Vandread crew leader, "only now, it'll be much worse, no doubt swarming with thousands of PSE armadas, as well as all those remaining Harvest ships and such, most likely reactivated by their Empress creator, given the current circumstances at hand-and you can bet your bottom ingot Ms. Pereira's pulling out the stops for what she's got in mind."

Whistling, Hibiki said, "That sucks. If there's way too many of those Harvesters and such, we'd just a bunch of winnin' losers in the end."

"Not when you got The Cornerstone Empire on your side," stated Gascogne, a sly grin on her face,  
"along with the Melanus, all the other people, as well as the forces of Taraak and Mejere, everyone that fought in the first war against The Harvest-along with a few other surprises on the side."

Draining the last of his Dom Perignon, his spirits revived, and not because of the champagne, the hothead said, "'Bout time! Things were gettin' borin' since that raid on La Placa."

"They were, eh?" said the Vandread head. "Well...I don't blame you...things hadn't been the same since Jura..."

"Jura...," said the Van pilot glumly. "But...Jura is gone now..."

"So's Barnette, Magno, B. C.," said Gascogne, the bluster from her voice depleted. "and my sister.  
Like I said, combat losses were my responsibility. But...what the hey? It's that Pereira's fault they're deceased. Anyhow, soon as we arrive, you'd best get your brain factory for some of your battle plans-  
we'll meet up with Misty, the General, the Major the Admiral and the Rear Admiral for V-E Day...  
Victory Earth Day, that is."

Even so, Hibiki couldn't help but think back to the dream he once had in which he and Jura were in the city of Dredge. And what was it she had once said to him then in that same dream? "You will always be the best beau I've got..."

Again, the Empress was livid. And again she was with what remained of her loyal (if loyal was the word for it) court, only all that remained were General Sibilant, Major Sarabande and Brigadier General Tarkus, pacing the council chamber floor of the Kurzester while she spoke, "So we're on our way?"

"We've just started the jump into hyperspace to Earth a second ago," replied Tzitziili. "I wager the Vandread crew and The Cornerstone Empire will get a head start there, but we'll be ready for them."

"In any case," said Pereira, "the tide's set to turn, once I reactivate my Harvest creations; when all is said and done, what remains of the dissidents that were bested by my Harvesters can be reprocessed into clone bio mech creations straightaway...for that matter..."

Turning to the council table, the Empress placed a chrome green colored laptop computer with the PSE logo on it, turned it on, then for the next few seconds, entered a sequence of key types, clicked on a few tabs, then said, "It's all set just as it was years ago...if our fleet doesn't wipe out our adversaries, my Harvest creations will."

"All too easy," said Orinda. "So you turned your Harvesters back on? That should be a shock for the likes of those jokers. Yet I can't help but wonder if who can say the same thing's likely to happen again, that the Vandread team may triumph over all we got like they did before?"

"Not when you consider the fact," said Brittany, " that we got a second Apocalypse Engine under constuction even now for the better part."

"As in the one located in our main Imperial Palace Base in what was once San Francisco?" said Sarah.

"Quite right," said the PSE ruler, "and boy will it be a bleedin' surprise for those L7 sods, when they show up in a false sense of complacency and overconfidence, only to discover the hard way, that when the time is right, the weapon will be complete-and fully armed and operational, with the Pyxis installed. Well,  
that, along with the fact I programmed the Harvester fleet to hide behind the Earth's moon, till called for, combined with the fact the Earth is protected by the omnisheild system, projected by the twelve satellites circling it."

"But the Vandread team," said the Major, "wiped out The Pyxis when they sabotaged the first Engine."

"True," said the Empress darkly, "but they wiped out A Pyxis, not THE Pyxis-OK, they got rid of The Green Pyxis, but I just happened to have a spare Pyxis I created with shards of the other past Pyxises I had created for years, a hybrid Pyxis I had worked on, known as The Rainbow Pyxis, which will power our new Engine;  
once it's finished, only it will be 1200 times stronger and larger than the others. Soon those that oppose our lot will be crushed along with their allies...it's seen the end of Hibiki and Dita and soon it will be the finish for the Vandread crew and The Cornerstone Empire and their ilk as well, whichever comes first." Then turning to Sgt. Isa Yo Jo, Governor Geraldine Wright and the Emerald Guard for the Sector 27 XEW plant and sheild and defense systems, she added, "You were well trained in your work, but not trained well in staving off a handful of L7 dissidents, that you all allowed to slip through your fingers-such is the price of failure, ladies..."

Just as she did before to the evil Jiggy Jiggy Juddin on Ganymede, Brittany gestured, summoning six globes, the daggers in each one, arranged in their hexagon pattern, then spun for some time, before the said globes vanished, the ring of daggers exploding outward and the blades impaling the afformentioned Emerald Guard, Yo Jo and Wright, littering the floor with corpses.

Even before coming out from hyperspace, even after all that effort, what the Vandread crew and The Cornerstone Empire saw was as expected, just like in the video they found years ago, that the Earth was still polluted with poison gas, steel gears, machines, steel webbing and framing-and thousands and thousands of PSE Minotaur class carriers,  
in addition to the equally thousands of Harvesters, all orbiting the planet. For Hibiki & Co., who were up in the Hohenzollern's bridge tower, viewing the whole machination through the windows, were dismayed at such a pitiful, if not a pathetic sight.

"Boy," said Bart from his helm ops section, "I've seen some bad sights before, but that is the baddest."

"Pitiful, just pitiful," said a glum Cara. "Looks like the whole planet went slum."

"And it may stay a slum," said Misty, "unless we can clean and terraform it."

"But first," said Hibiki, "we've got to get those PSE punks and all those remaining Harvesters-but I never saw so many of them-they're swarming everywhere!"

"The thing is," said Meia, "CAN the combined effort of our group, The Cornerstone Empire, and the other allies stand a chance against all that? When we fought off The Harvest years ago at Tarrak and Mejere, that was one thing, but what we're up against now is even larger than before."

"Supposing we do wipe out and route the enemy to get past and reach the Earth," said Dita, "what happens next?"

"The fact there's a main city base," said Tsitra, "protected from the current enviorment of the Earth-the Imperial Palace Base, located in what used to be America, specifically in what was formerly San Francisco, California. But even if we did get past the fleet-and no one other than the PSE ever did-there's still the matter of the twelve sattellite projectors ringing around in Earth orbit, projecting a sheild over the whole planet that anything can't penetrate."

"Worst of all," added Gie Bele, behind that fleet is a ring of sattelite mines similar to the ones that protected the Olympus Mons base, only much larger and much more deadlier, along with all that poison pollutions in the sky."

"More of those mines?" moaned Montgomery. "Och, we canna stand a chance against that."

"Aye, but we got to all the same, laddie," said Norton. "a lot of lads and lassies will be countin' on the likes of ourselves to reclaim what was ours centuries ago."

"Aye indeed," agreed Nathan, "so let's do it for those we left behind and vice versa-and our wives."

"Hoot mon," said Andrew, "but how?"

"Good question...," said a thoughtful Gascogne, "how indeed...? Today's one time we've got to meld all our brainpower as one-take on one matter at a time, locate some weakpoint in their works just like we did before, and take it out, your department, Hibiki, if we want the first hit of the season."

"Before anyone starts thinking," spoke Admiral Xaltocan, "consider a few facts that only we knew; you may not know it, but in the Imperal base, is a second Apocalypse Engine also under construction, powered by a new hybrid Pyxis that the Empress worked on for the better part of a decade-something from the scraps of other Pyxises she had."

"A second Apocalypse engine?" said a jolted Hibiki. "Great flyin' dog do! *%#$^&!"

"Not to mention a new Pyxis," said Meia. "And those new mines? It'd be total suicide for even our Vandreads to take those out, unless there was a way to do it."

Turning to the digital map table, Rear Admiral Eos called up a general map of the Earth with the PSE and Harvest fleets, the sheild projectors and mines, in orbit relation with each other and stated, "So far, the first perimeter is the first wave of the carrier fleet, mixed in with some Harvesters, followed with the sheild projecting satellites, then the second wave, then the minefield, which only the Empress can turn off to make safe to traverse it safely, by remote control." Then pointing to where the orbital protectors were, the Rear Admiral added, "Since the PSE uses a side by side wave of ships scattered across to wipe out a wide area, the best bet would be to arrange our fleet in a V formation to dive a wedge through the first wave and make a hole, then arrange for The Cornerstone Empire to supply a diversion move while the rest takes out thse sheild satellites."

"Wait," said Nathan, holding up his hand, "allow me and my brothers to fly out there and knock out those satellites, I mean, you helped out our own, so we'll help you."

"But can you pilot a Diamante?" said a doubtful Gascogne.

"Aye," replied Montgomery. "Right now, we'll do what ever it takes to put away that Empress for good after what she did to our wives."

"Do I sense deja vu somewhere along the lines of that saying?" said Norton.

"Hoot mon," said Andrew. "Then again, I could be mistaken."

Already deep in thought, Hibiki glanced at the map table, saying, "That gives me a thought...and a new battle plan..."

"You're right," muttered Meia, "Get on with it, Never Say Die Tokai, what's your plan?"

After a minute of thought, the Van pilot began pointing to key spots on the map as he spoke, "Like Nate said, he and his brothers Mac Neil can fly in Diamantes and take out those orbital sheild projectors, while the Vandread team contend with the first PSE wave of carriers, fightercraft and some Harvest drones, with The Cornerstone Empire mopping up the rest of the mess, then after the sheild is down, we can take out the mines, wearing sunglasses to protect ourselves from the light mines while we blast a path through that minefield with the rest of you for cover, then when we land, we'll figure out a way to get in that base and take out the new Engine and dethrone Ms. Pereira."

"What do you think, Gasco?" said Dita. "It sounds brilliant."

"Brilliant indeed," said the new Vandread crew head, "but must I tell you it's GASCOGNE!" Then to the Tarrakan hothead, she added, "You see? You can come up with a winning stage play in record time."

"It just might work," said Tsitra, "only one concern: supposing we do succeed, what happens then once inside that base?  
I'ts got a thick ganutlet of death deailing Emerald Guard shock troops guarding not only the Engine installation, but also the central control core where the Empress directs her general work there-you sure can't take on a whole army like that."

"Worse still," added Gie Bele, "there's way too many XEW plants to take out, counting the one in the base, let along all the outposts and carriers in the remaining fleet...unless there's a way to do so..."

"Maybe." said Gascogne. "You said the Empress uses a computer to broadcast video bulletins, right? So what if we could hack into that thing and broadcast a fake bulletin, saying the PSE was on the losing end of the war, after we knock out the Palace XEW plant? Everyone else seeing that would think they had lost and cut some slack, to make our job a bit easier."

"It just might work...," said the Admiral, "and we know where the terminal for that bulletin computer is located-in the Empress' central office chambers, on her desk."

Even while the Vandread team and the rest got ready, the surprise came out from lightspeed to rendezvous with them-the fleet from Tarrak and Mejere, the Melanus and all the other allies that had fought The Harvest in the old days, as Dita called it-  
and emerging fri lightspeed were several other Conerstone Empire War Machines, in addition to the Synthesis. All were lined up and in phalanx array, with Lord Granpa and Lady Granma leading their respective fleets, as were all the other leaders as Gascogne was in communique with the Lord and Lady.

"Today is a great day for sure," Lord Granpa was saying, "as such, we're counting on everyone to put the PSE away for good and reclaim the Earth."

"There can be no margin for mistakes," added Lady Granma. "Undoubtely, the PSE will pull out all the stops in ensuring our efforts will be our last, given the fact that many of those we loved died because of the PSE-and for what they did to the Earth."

"Not to worry," said the new Vandread head. "As long as we play our parts right and remamber to smile, no worries. I got a few aces up the sleeve, even if it may be house rules for the moment. The first hit of the season is now and we'll do what it takes to reach alle stelle, right up to the stars."

"Then do what it takes as our other allies will...," said Lord Granpa.

"...to ensure our show is a hit," said Lady Granma. "May the ship of good fortune be with us."

Even as the fleet of manowars, gun ships, tankers, carriers, capital ships (the Hohenzollern included), fightercraft, all respectively belonging to the Tarrak and Mejere forces, the Melanus, The Cornerstone Empire, et al, were gearing up and arranging in a V formation from within the Hohenzollern's cavern like hangars, activity was abuzz with the Diamante, Vandread and Macneil crews getting ready, fueling their ships and preparing for take off, Hibiki doing last second checks in his Van, while his MP3 player played Sammy Hagar's Mashed Tequila,  
before Gascogne came on the comm saying, "Make it big, all of you, and remember to smile, got it? Wait for the brothers Mac neil to take out those sheild projector sattellites, then give those PSE bastards a shellacking they'll never forget! Stand by to launch on Meia's order, speaking of which, you take it from here."

"Roger," said Meia who directed her words to the team, saying, "Soon as the brothers Macneil wipe out those shelid satellites, we'll take out a chunk of enemy Diamantes, carriers and a lot of those mines. Got your sunglasses on against those light mines?"

"YUP!" chorused the other Vandread team members.

"OK, let's launch!" barked the Vandread head, "but I say again, don't kill anyone, not even the enemy-just crash the party and get to know our hostess!"

"ROGER!" came the reply before the Vandread team took off, streaking through the zero atmosphere of space, followed by some Diamantes,  
four of which now belonged to the brothers Macneil, one of which, Norton, said to Hibiki & Co., "Good luck, lad and lassies, and godspeed."

"Right back at you," said Hibiki, "and be careful...! It's unlikely those PSE punks will play for keeps."

After peeling off from the rest of the fleet, the brothers formed a diamond formation, flying to the first of the projector satellites, Montgomery saying, "Och, we got a lot of space to cover, so let's cover that space with a lot of PSE trash."

"Dinna it sound tough for you?" said Nathan.

"All too easy," said Norton, "but let's stay on our guard; those projectors may be mines in their own right."

"Aye," said Andrew. "Let's do it for our wives and people we lost, and give those PSE devil lassies a shellileigh shellackin-one an' all!"

And the brothers did just that, blasting point blank at each satellite, one at a time, in an orbital speed streak, till they came round the other side of the planet, wiping out the last of the satellites,while the rest of the fleet covered them from any enemy nearby.

From within the Hohenzollern bridge, Amarone reported to her post to Admiral Chmali, "Our scans say the sheild is down."

Hearing that, Xaltocan said to Gascogne, "They've done it-the sheild is down."

"Our first hit of the season indeed," agreed the Vandread head, before turning to an open mike and said, "All ships, start the raid!"

From within the C.E.W.M. Synthesis, the Empress Vanna muttered, "Now the key to a new order can begin..." To her officers, she ordered, "It's time-pass to word to begin the raid!"

Even as the allied fleet launched into action, their weapons blazed and fightercraft catapulted into the fray, the PSE and Harvest was doing the same, deploying fightercraft and engaging their weapons, and even while the brothers Macneil were taking down the sheild satellites, the Vandread team was already in close combat with the enemy fleet, dodging, blasting and evading Harvest drones and Diamantes as well as Harvest capital ships and PSE Minotaur class carriers, wiping out their weapons, and hitting the engines, causing the enemy Diamante pilots to eject from their ships-in their control pods, that is. Oh, and did we mention all that was done with the team using Omega Vandread, a much larger form of Super Vandread, that had the look of a 50 foot tall ninja?

"Watch your buttsey," said Cara, "there's a silo bay of PSE missiles."

"Careful of that crossfire," said Tsitra.

"Missile ahead!" said Gie Bele

"Heads up, group, we got a problem!" said Misty

With crises like those, Omega Vandread dealt with them with no effort, woth extra support from the defector piloted Diamantes and their other allies helping out. Once, Hibiki called out, "OK you &^$#&* PSE punks, you smell like dog buns, so we're takin' you to the vet's! ZAMMO! TOAST!"

Slamming down on a switch, Hibiki triggered Omega Vandread's newest weapon, a Fusion Blade, styled after his Van's standard sword, which sliced off the whole cluster of radar, tracking and communications antennae off the top of one carrier's bridge tower. Another time, the giant ninja machine shot out a series of scattered phaserbolts that seeked out a wave of missiles and finished them off in one hit.

"Skwappo," said Meia. "Right on the old bazoo."

"Now you're talkin' the talk," declared Hibiki. "Beats smokin' cigarettes anytime."

"I could've told you that," said a noncomittal Dita.

At that moment, Gascogne came on the comm: "All ships, start the raid!"

"It's time," said Meia. "Split up and we'll take on those mines and such, one at a time, so let's get our sunglasses on."

"ROGER!" chorused the rest of the tean before donning their shades, confident their other allies would cover for them. For Hibiki Tokai, however, his mind wasn't just on sweeping aside the enemy and landing on the Earth for the first time...it was wondering how to deal with the Empress Pereira...after seeing what she could do with her marksmanship, inventing creations like The Harvest an weapons, and using her lethal sorceress power...how would he and the rest of the Vandread defeat her without getting bested in the process, after seeing what happened to Rabat, the Electric Boogaloos and Jura...was there some kind of weak spot, an Achilles heel Pereira had? Right now, the hothead turned his attention to the action juat as one of the light mines nearby flashed out its concentrated light on the team, then went out.

"You all right?" said Misty.

"Yup," replied the Van pilot. "Good thing we had those sunglasses otherwise, we would've been stuck with canes and readin' Braille for good. How bout the rest of you?"

"We're all safe with the rest of our eyesight intact," said Meia, "well, let's haul BUT-TOCKS, and point blank wipe out those mines while we charge."

"Wait," said Dita, "you ain't thinkin' of haulin' BUT-TOCKS down a minefield?"

"Why, youse think it looks tough to youse?" said Cara.

"After what we've been through," said Gie Bele, "it should be a cinch-one crisis like that won't make any difference."

"We know how to key a path through through the field," added Tsitra, "only we'll make it easier for the benefit of the rest of the flett-sneak up on each mine and blast it."

"And I say we run roughshod thorugh the field for a new path, here and now!" decared Hibiki.

"Why not?" said Meia. "That would be the end to a perfect day. LET'S DO IT!"

"ROGER!" said the other women of the team; as it turned out, the Van pilot known as Hibiki Tokai had a stradedgy in mind: Omega Vandread using its new omnidirectional weaponry while running head on into the minefield, blasting them in their path on the way. And it worked, the giant Vandread charging into the field, mine after mine exploding under the Omega's firepower, till a lot of scattered junk was all that remained of the mines.

"They've done it-not bad for a handful of amateurs," said Governor Mallory Tradei, to her daughter Vanna.

"Naturally," said The Cornerstone Empire Empees before she turned to a comm and said, "Vanna to Gascogne, do you copy?"

"We saw it," said the supply leader turned Vandread crew head. "Now the real fun starts, and with it, a chance to put on an act those PSE punks won't forget."

But even as the rest of the allied fleet were engaging in what could be billed as "the greatest battle of the century," seven miles be hind the fleet, the Empress' carrier fleet came out from lightspeed, the Kurzerster leading and the said PSE ruler was up in the birdge tower when she and the rest saw what was happening.

"'Cor...!" said Pereira. "It's impossible!"

"No," said General Sarah Sibilant, "it's a battle-a battle in which our fleet is getting whomped."

"But how?" said Major Tzitziili Sarabande. "With our global shielding systems and the minefield in place?"

"Only one reason," said Officer Baht, a brunette that looked like Mildred Ratched from One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. "I checked the power scan readings for the satellite sheild projectors and the mines; they no longer register as functional."

"Is that a bloody joke?" demanded Brittany. "Check again."

After running some computer based diagnostics and checking a screen that showed the last of some onscreen icons fading off the screen, Baht replied,  
"There go the last of our mines-and they know how to sabotage the sheilds! #%*$^&! They've got an answer for nearly everything! Curse them!"

"But they're no match for your sorceress power, if not the second engine in the palace base-so far...," said Brigadier Orinda Tarkus.

"True...," agreed the Empress, "so far they haven't discovered the secret of my great power...but for how long? We'll post a heavier guard of our Emerald Guard to protect the engine's cryogenic plants with additional battallions over the rest of the other crucial spots of our weapon, as well as the Rainbow Pyxis, not to mention the power and XEW plants, thus ensuring history from the Vandread team DOESN'T repeat itself like it did before.  
And the rest of the fleet? Let's spring the trap on them."

With that in mind, the PSE ruler whipped out her laptop computer and after entering several sequential sequences into its keyboard, said, "I just call the Harvest fleet the was hiding behind the moon to come out from behind and sneak up behind the dissidents' fleet-had no idea there'd be many War Machine, Tarrakan, Mejerian, Melanus and so forth allies-and take them without warning, thus pincering them twixt a rock and a herd place in effect. Prepare for landing at The Palace Base."

In a second, a vast fleet of Harvest ships, one of which was the cannon ship that once had a boy child that had confronted Hibiki, came from behind the Earth's mon, traveling at full speed, their target, the allied fleet.

Onboard the Synthesis, its was diffent matter, when the Empress Vanna spoke, "My CTI senses detected a thought...that the PSE Empress launched a wave of Harvesters from behind the moon to take our allies by surprise."

From her tracking station, Weg Balderon said, "Tracking contacts verify it, Your Illustrious, we've got thousands of Harvest ships coming on behind."

Turning back to the comm, the CE Empress said, "Vanna to Gascogne, Vanna to Gascogne, you'd best beware, there's way too many Harvest ships coming in behind you and our ilk; seems they were hidden behind the moon till now."

Onboard the Hohenzollern, at that moment, Celtic said, "Miss Gasco! We're detecting at 400 GR, countless Harvesters from behind!"

Turning to the window, as well as the telescreens, the said Gascogne and the bridge crew could see thousands of Harvest ships, their weapons, fightercraft and main cannons powering up-only now not only wwere there way too many to fight (or so it seemed), but they were pincering the allies twixt them and the rest of the enemy fleet ahead of them.

"It's a trap...!" breathed Admiral Xaltocan.

As always, however, Gascogne was nonplussed by it all, saying to the Admiral, "Admiral, take the conn-and tell Parfet and Duero to meet me in the hangar."

Up ahead, was one of the carriers that was in the path of the Vandread team, now joined by the brothers Macneil, Nathan calling out, "Need any help?"

"Absolutely," said the Van pilot. "Time we settle a lot of scores for what Ms. Pereira did, especially to our old home planet..."

"Right now, there's a few roadblocks to contend with," said Major Taltli. "Ready for Vandread Gie Bele?"

"Just point me the way," said the hothead, before gunning his Van and engaging with Gie Bele's Diamante, resulting in the transformation of a green armored turtle-Vandread Gie Bele, in which the Major and the mechanic sat side by side, heading for the nearest carrier.

"Careful!" said Taltli. "That carrier's launching its missiles!"

"Then let's see if it'll be a hit or a missile," said the hothead, slamming his fist on a switch; the steel Vandread turtle's mouth opened and belched out a stream of green fire which streaked across the top of the carrier, and the missile silo section, just as the silos were opening; the blast not only took out the silos, they took out the missiles that had launched out, along with half the base of the bridge tower, with no one in the ship harmed.

"Right on the old bazoo!" declared Hibiki. "You PSE punks, pack your trunks and SCRAM!"

At that moment, Gascogne's ship, with the said Vandread head, Parfet an Duero with her, pulled up along side Vandread Gie Bele and the G-gal said, "Brilliant piece of acting there, but here come the critics from behind-countless Harveters and fighters coming from behind the moon, ready to pincer our fleet against the fleet up ahead."

Upon looking back, the Vandread team, along with the brothers Macneil could see the Harvest fighters getting ready to engage, while the cannons of the Harvest ships were gearing up, readytopen fire on the whole kit and caboodle.

"Oh, great!" moaned Misty. "there's no way we can repel forepower oh such magnitude! We'll need more than help!"

"Help is on the way," came a new voice on the comm, that of the Empress Vamma.

Turning to her mother Mallory, Vanna, who had in on hand, a handgrip with two thick cables from its bottom and a red button from the top, said, "Status of The Megga Cannons?"

"Fully powered," replied the Governor.

"Truning to a comm, The Empress spoke, "To all War Machines-make your turn at once in the direction of the those Harvesters from behind, and hurry-they're getting ready to use their cannons and launch their fighters at the same time!"

One by one, like a world globe turning on its axis, each War Machine turned till it was facing the powering up Harvest sneak attack, till they were facing the enemy, as was a 40 foot wide crater in the bottomost part of the planetoid section of each C.E.W.M.; deep within each crater however, mounted from the underside of the crater ceiling,  
a huge muzzle covered in cables and heat sink like ridges-the planet destroying Megga Cannon.

"All War Machines rotated and locked on target," said Ganeral Jessica Per.

Directing half her words to the War Machines and half to her crew, Vanna spoke, "Fire at will."

Deep within each War Machine, in each of The Megga Cannon's central control sections, staffers were moving sliders, pulling levers, pushing buttons and entering sequences on a computer keyboard-and then Vanna, and others like her, onboard their respective War Machines, sharply depressed the red buttons on their grips; each Megga cannon pulsed out a blue white bolt of concentrated firepower that swept the part of spce, incinerating all the Harvesters-just as their cannos had a chnace to open fire-and their drones, till all that remained of them were shards of twist and burnt steel.

"Yaaaaay!" chirped Dita. "Good old Cornerstone Empire! They always come to the rescue!"

"With our allies keeping the rest of the enemy occupied," stated Gascogne, "we can be occupied with our two step key to victory that me, Misty, Duero, Parfet, the General and the Major worked out beforehand. Next stop, the planet Earth-and don't forget you enviorments suits."

On that note, Gascogne, the Vandread team and the brothers Macneil streaked past and through the barrier of the enemy Pereira Star Empire fleet, and so on, to Earth.

At last...The Vandread team finally make it to Earth, but will they be able to pull through the lethal enviorment of their first home planet? How will they infiltrate The Palace Base and stop that second Apocalypse Engine from its completion, much less its schance to decimate their Vandread allies? Can they turn the rest of the PSE against their ruler by turning off those XEW plants? And even if they did all that, can they take on the Empress Brittany, despite that great power and damage she can do? Did i leavey tyhing out? Nope, I think I covered it all.

-a440

Next: Chapter 26: Prince (Hibiki) & The Revolution


	27. Prince Hibiki & The Revolution

I say again, sorry for such a long delay; family matters took up most of my time, but here's what could be the ultimate confrontation.  
-a440

CHAPTER 26: PRINCE (HIBIKI) & THE REVOLUTION

At first, it was tough during the re entry phase for the Vandread team,  
Gascogne (who, with Dureo and Parfet, having joined then along the way in the G-gal's ship), and the brothers Macneil, with the poison air almost tough on the circuits, almost peeling off the paint, arriving, for the first time in years, on the surface of the planet Earth, its landscape and the city that was once San Francisco (nearby, the Golden Gate Bridge, its famous paint already flaked off from the foul chemicals in the air, could be seen.), and not too far away, taking up much of the land with its pyramid domed spires and Taj Mahal like structure, sheilded fro the lethal air, was The Imperial Palace Base, surrounded by a Minotaur class carrier or two-the group arriving ahead of the Empress and her court.  
"Boy oh boy," a disgusted Hibiki muttered, "that is totally # %*&^$ disgusting.  
That Empress Pereira's gone too far, way, way, way, way, etc. TOO FAR!"

"Yo," said Cara, "how can we clean up an' save the Earth?"

"Yucc," said Dita, "# %*&^$ disguting's not the word for it, it's sickening."

"All the same," stated Gascogne, "we've got job to do, so we've got to do it well-  
so let's give the enemy hell."

Just as they did before, the Vandread team burrowed under the surface of the earth, only they chose a different method than the one they did on Mars: they flew over the ocean, and landed in what was once Marin County. From there, Hibiki, used his Van to sword dig under the earth, under the Pacific Ocean, and tunnel up through to The Imperial Place Base, in a sub basement; once the fleet was safe and sound, Hibiki's Van placed a heavy stack of containers on top of the hole to prevent any poision gases that may had followed them from the outside from getting inside. From there, the crew, after checking to ensure the air was safe, stepped out into an unused storage bay which had been once used for old storage, with a bolted door which Gascogne blasted open with her stolen phaser crossbow. After that, they came to a larger than avarage grilled vent which Cara, Tsitra, Gie Bele and Misty removed, a cavernous passage behind that.

"You sure these gas bombs The Cornerstone Empire issued to our group will work?"  
said Parfet.

"Defineitely," replied the General. "they're ultraconcentrated, yet totally harmless; they just make anyone that doesn't wear an enviorment suit like we do, sleep."

On that note, the four pulled out the pin for each bomb, and hurled them into the tunnel like vent; several explosions told the story that the said bombs did their task.

"Rockaby divas," said Hibiki. "Now what?"

"Och, now what, laddie?" said Andrew. "We take out those XEW plants, what else?"

"Brilliantly said," agreed Gascogne, who led the group down the vent. "Now that we've finished Act 1, it's time for Act 2-and I don't mean the popcorn."

Upon entering the vent, they found to there surprise, at numerous intervals, a legion of Emerald Guard troops stationed in case any saboteurs planned to used the vent to reach the XEW plants-only those said troops didn't count on these saboteurs, the Vandread team, that is, to use gas bombs to knock them out, which they did.

"Sucks to be them, eh?" remarked Meia. "Well, let's sow the seeds of a new revolution, for the key to a new order."

"And freedom," agreed Dita.

When the group reached the cavernlike interiors of the XEW plants, Gascogne called out,  
"Places everyone for Act 2-make with the charges and blast those controls as well! And ensure anything that can be fixed, can't be fixed!"

Frome there, the Vandread team used their phasers to blast the control panels, set bombs on the rest of the machinery, and tear out from the plant chambers, before those said charges blew up, wiping out any chances for repairs on the said equipment.

"It'll take time before the fumes diminish," said Misty. "Next stop, the Empress' office,  
and her bulletin computer."

It took an hour before the group arrived at the doors of the PSE ruler's office, which had four slumbering officers slumped to the wall; General Steg was examining the keypad and slot for the keycard when she said despaingly, "I don't think I've got jurisdiction for that."

"Well I sure don't," agreed Major Taltli.

"Youse wanna step aside?" said Cara, who stuck in the slot, a circuit board like card connected to a ribbon cable which led to her lap top; she entered a sequence on the keyboard, and in a minute or so, the doors opened, where inside was a chamber the size of a war room, with a desk with screens and computer terminals in the center of the room...and it was to the desk wher Cara, Parfet and Gascogne headed for, tapping into and bypassing the security systems as before, the Vandread heaD saying, "Time to do more than put the x in sex-it's time to put Ms. Pereira in Cornwallis' role."

"Aye," said Norton, "the Empress, she dead...long live Gascogne, hoot mon."

"Wait," said Andrew, "supposing the Empress does come back? We're out of her league when it comes to her magic."

"Hoot mon," said Montgomery, "we'd be corpses before we can swap salutations with her."

"It's been taken care of, thanks to the one fragment of Blue Pyxis we scraped up," said Parfet, who looked up from her work and said, "Duero, it's time."

In reply, the Tarrak medic produced a thick briefcase and opened it; inside were seven handguns, which he then handed to Hibiki, Misty, Cara, Tsitra, Gie Bele, Gascogne and Meia.

"Me, Parfet and Gascogne worked on these for days," said Duero. "Each gun contains a custom designed bullet with a piece of the Blue Pyxis carved in the shape of a bullethead in each. She's got a theory that each of these Pyxis bits may literally restore time to the Empress and stop her ageless ability, as well as her magic. Keep in mind that anything can happen, I mean they could break into pieces, they could spin in different places. In short, the outcome's unknown till we stick any of those gems in Ms Pereira."

"Put simply," said the Vandread head, "I got a feeling she'll be coming here, boiling enraged when she learns there's a revolution in her fort and no one's there to use her Apocalypse Engine, which The Cornerstone Empire will put paid to in a hurry. Dita, you, Parfet, Duero and the brothers Mac neil will distract the Empress soon as she enters while the rest will take her from behind with these guns."

"But that be suicide," said a disdained Nathan.

"Aye," said Montgomery, "but tis a chance we've got to take if we're to stop in its tracks cold, Brittany Pereira's reign."

"Lucky for me, I've got Blue Cross," said a shuddering Dita.

Surprisingly, it didn't take long for the whole city fort to be soon devoid of the XEW, as well as the knockout gas, with many of the PSE staff, the Emerald Guard and the staff behind the new Apocalypse Engineto groggily awaken and wonder what had happened and how did they get here, when the public screens came on with the PSE logo in flames and the computer voice saying, "Attention all Imperial staff, stand by for a visiual bulletin...The Pereir Star Empire just fell to the new Vandread Revolution,  
led by those from Tarrak, Mejere, supported by the Melanus, The Conerstone Empire, and all their fellow allies..."

Upon emerging from re entry, the Kuzester and the rest of the PSE carrier fleet were heading for their home base when the screens popped up and they blared the fake bulletin, to the shock and bewilderment of Pereia, who said, "What the...?"

"...the Empress," said the voice, "her Imperial court, and all those loyal to her without the need of XEW, will be arrested on sight alive and imprisoned and all personnel throught the PSE fleet as well as their bases galaxywide, including those in The Imperial Palace Base and its Apocalypse Engine abandon their posts, lay down their arms, turn off all XEW plants and join our fellow allies in peaceful co opreration..."

"No...!" hissed Pereira. "I never sent out such a bulletin...! Admiral, call the Emerald Guard to stop those weak minded insurgents while I try to make a new bulletin, before they think for themselves!"

Just then, an officer ran up and said, "Empress, we've got reports of rioits heppening in our fleet, with of troops detroying and blasting all the XEW plants, ours included, thousands of sabotage and major defections running wild!"

Paling, it was then Brittany glanced form the corner of her eye, as did the rest of the staff, and saw thousands of Diamantes taking off from all the carriers, flying out to who knows where; sounds of protests and guns firing could be heard, with pounding on doors. Turning to General Sibilant, the PSE Empress ordered, "Make landing at our Palace Base, use all carrier weapons to stop the defectors and stop the riots! KILL THEM ALL!"

Down in the section where the staff for The Apocalypse Engine were on standby, the said staff saw the fake computer bulletin on the screens, having recovered from the XEW gas when the synthetic spiel said, "...as of right now, effective as soon as possible, the rule of The Pereira Star Empire is ended for enternity. All workplaces, bases, XEW plants and all connected with the PSE must and will be earmarked for closing down at once, now and forever. Long live the Revolution!"

"Did you hear that?" said the gunnery mistress to her crew. "That means the Empress lost and we're free!"

In an uproar, the crew wasted no time in ritoing, taking out loyal staffers with stun blasts and blasting the controls of the weapon, along with the crygenic plants, enegry pumps, and finally the Rainbow Pyxis itself, which upon blasted, turned into a shower of rainbow dust, which floated in the air and flew out the nearest door, and out to...who knows?

By the time the PSE fleet-what was left of it, anyway-landed at the Palace Base, there was pandemonium everywhere, chaos, disorder and anarchy running rampan, and despite much of the loyal Emerald Guard trying to get the upper hand, for a chagrined, astounded and devistated Empress,  
the said Guard were no match for the revolutionaries, who were causing all the destruction they could, stun blasting officers and fleeing the scene.  
The fact that her fleet's crew had been reduced to a skeleton group, along with the fact her carrier computers were trashed, that was bad enough, but seeing her empire come unglued so quickly...was, in her POV, the most inexcusable, of not the most unxpected thing to happen; for a moment,  
Brittany was unable to think, taking in everything...till the General of the base, a Enahpollec Ybab ran up to the PSE ruler, looking worse for wear,  
and panting, said, "Empress! There's rebellion all around the base, with lots of defections everywhere, all our weapons and supplies wiped out, along with The Apocalypse Engine as well!"  
"WHAT?!" screamed Pereira, her face deep purple (and I don't mean the rock band). "IT'S IMPOSSIBLE! THAT PLACE WAS HEAVILY GUARDED AND INDESTRUCTABLE!"

"Tell that to the defectors that trashed it," said Enahpollec, "along with the Rainbow Pyxis as well."

"No...," said the PSE ruler, her voice shaking her face flushed. "Not the Rainbow Pyxis...!" For her, it felt like the world-her world anyway-had come to an end...for that matter, more bad news came in the form of Major Sarabande running up to the Empress and saying, "Empress! The Cornerstone Empire's coming with a huge fleet of Tarrak, Mejere, Melanus and other allies, and they're surrounding our cities and our palace!"

Upon hearing that, along with the rumble of ship engines and weapons firing, Brittany was thunderstruck that the unexpected could happen and without her Empire up to full power, it seemed she was down to her last resort-herself and her sorceress power. Now or never if she had the chance to resurrect her PSE from the ashes of doom.

"Scatter at once and try to hold them off any which way you can!" she ordered what remained of her court. "Then if you can't, flee to our hideaways on the Earth,  
and we'll rendezvous in the hopes of collecting what remains for one last stand; to those that succeed, those will recieve The Order Of Jupiter for their efforts! May luck be with all of you!"

On that, Pereira turned and ran, into the base, down the halls, using her power to take out anyone that stood in her way, until she reached the shattered ruins of The Apocalypse Engine and its powdered remains of what had been the Rainbow Pyxis; seeing that, all the empress could do was crumble to the cement floor and cry,  
sobbing, "It's gone...the Rainbow Pyxis is gone..." Then after drying her eyes, the rage and hate she had sustained burning in her eyes, she growled, "Where are you, Gascogne?! Your fate stands with me...you will DIE! You and your bloody L7 Vandread allies! CURSE YOU ALL!"

Blind with burning rage, the PSE ruler ran down all after hall, until she reached the open office chamber of hers, the doors open, and her desk computer demolished beyond repair-and Gascogne & Co. waiting for her.

"YOU!" snarled Brittany.

"Ah, there you are, Brittany," declared Gascogne. "What do you think of your so called L7 sods now?"

"Curses on you all!" growled Pereira. "You wiped out my bulletin computers and XEW plants-thanks to you and your $^&*% # Vandread sods, everyone's thinking for themselves and my Empire's crumbling to its foundations...no matter...I am down to my last resort: I'll finish you off hear and now in a mano a mano, then wipe out your allies afterwards, before rebuilding my PSE, no matter what happens now...only there ain't likely to be any bleeding quick strikedowns-no. I'll torture you, I'll bloody crucify, real bad!"

"Hard words from a hard woman, eh, Britt?" said Hibiki.

"Hey, don't you start!" warned the livid Empress.

The tension mounts, the tension heats up. Mano a mano, the real ultimate confrontation. Brittany Pereira vs. Gascogne and her Vandread team. Soundes like the makings of a UFC event, Vandread style.

-a440

Next: Chapter 27: A Death Worse Than Fate


	28. A Death Worse Than Fate

And now...the real confrontation at hand,  
and though it might not rival Spartacade, it's a worthy battle of the ages...well, what can we say but let's get ready to rrrrummmmble with Hibiki & Co.?

-a440

CHAPTER 27: A DEATH WORSE THAN FATE

"Up to now," declared the PSE ruler, "I've put up with your antics, but now,  
it's bloody time to draw the line and sort you all out, once and for all. And I can just reckon you've got an army of sockpuppets, ready to stave off any negative reviews of your L7 life...prepare yourself to feel the revenge of Brittany Pereira!"

With a gesture, the Empress caused Hibiki & Co. to be contorted and twisted to the point of them writhing and howling in pain, almost like human pretzels.

"I did say no quick knockdowns, right?" said Pereira. "I said I was going to torture you and crucify you, real bad, and that is how I plan to do so to the likes of you, before I choose to end your insignificant misery, whichever comes first-in short, you will DIE!"

"Och, now what?" moaned Norton. "She's way out of our league!"

"Never say die, laddies!" said Nathan.

"Easy for you to say," shot back Andrew.

"Aye," said Montgomery, "but at least we tried."

"Hey, you don't try, you do!" said Hibiki, who had pulled out his phaser crossbow and aimed it at the Empress, despite having now been twisted and the pain that went with it, saying, "Here's what we think of your so called sockpuppet an' banhammer theories!" then taking some stun potshots at the PSE ruler; as expected, Brittany deflected every last bolt with her sheild, then said,  
"You know, that wasn't bloody nice, Hibiki Back Sass Tokai. No matter-for that insult, let's cut to the chase and finish you all-HERE AND NOW!"

The Empress started to gesture to the Vandread team, but as she did so, a hexagonal grid like sheild came up, covering all of Hibiki & Co., and at the same time, they were untwisted, uncontorted and free from the contortion spell, a bit stiff in the joints, but unbroken and alive-and that was when, upon gesturing the PSE ruler turned loose her columns of flame, which shot up one by one, then encircled the group...only now the sheild had protected them from getting roasted to a crisp, a moment that stunned Pereira AND the Vandread team.

"What happened?" said Misty. "We're still here."

"An' free from that pretzel spell." said Cara. "We've would've been fried."

"Something tells me," said Meia, "it's got to do with the sheild that just covered us."

"But who or what," said Parfet, "placed that sheild?"

The Empress, unable to believe what she had seen, said in surprise, "What's happening? You're free from my contortion spell...and my flame colunns didn't fry you! It's impossible! SOMETHING'S got to finish you,"

Bent on her unholy desire to wipe out the Vandreaders, Brittany called on her spells she used to annilate the Electric Boogaloos-first with the flame spheres that turned into the flaming sprinkler, then the five lightning spheres which turned into the thick column of concentrated lightning and the six dagger spheres that changed into the outward exploding ring of daggers...all to no avail for the first time; the sheild fully protected Hibiki & Co. from the ultra fatal spells to a tee.

"It's impossible...!" hissed Pereira. "No one could withstand spells of such magintude!"

"Hey," said Duero, "we're still here, after what just happened."

"But how?" said Gie Bele. "Those spells the Empress used were excessivly lethal, and yet...yet we're still here."

"Indeed," said Dita. "What happened?"

All at once, it became apparent as to how the group withstood those killer spells when the PSE ruler said, "Wait...  
only a CTI generated sheild could've protected you sods from my magic-but no, only Balderonians can do that and I know for the life of me, that you ain't Blderonians, but who or what...?"

"I wish we knew ourselves," said Tsitra, "wait-only one handful of Balderonians could create that sheild..."

It was then that what happened next finished the General's hypothesis, for just then the voice of The Cornerstone Empire Empress Vanna came on the onboard communicator of Gascogne's stolen crossbow, saying, "Gascogne, me and my Cornerstone Empire joined up with Rabat's race to combine our CTI chi power along with their power to channel a hybrid form of power to form a sheild around you. We'll also try to further channel our power to try to wear down Brittany's sheild. For now, it's all up to you-wear her down with your stun blasts, till she gives up!"

"The Conerstone Empire and Rabat's own people?!" said Pereira, her eyes narrowing. "That figures. Even so. that sheild can't last forever sooner or later, and that is the fact. Prepare to meet thy doom-or else!"

"I got news for you," said Gascogne, "you sheild can't last forever either, and besides, all that time, you've never even smiled, nor played your lines right, if not your script. Whatever...to the setting of everything."

"En garde, Gasco," said the Empress, who prepared to gesture with her hand.

"GASCOGNE!" yelled the new Vandread head.

What happened next came fast and in a flash, for Brittany gestured, and several snowflake shaped ice forms were hurled down on the Vandreaders, yet their sheild held well while Gascogne & Co. were blasting with their crossbows, the phaserbolts pelting the Empress' sheild which more often than not, was standing strong...but how long would it be before either sheild gave out and which one? Then Pereira morphed into a 15 foot tall wolf with glowing blue eyes which belched from its mouth, blue flames and tried to take swipes with its paw and bites with its razor teeth mouth, only for the sheld to stave it off.

Indeed for the next few hours, the battle raged on, when the PSE ruler morphed into a giant 20 foot mutant allgator snapping turtle with horns on the head and extra claws; time and angain, she thrust her head out to bite with her hard sharp jaws, which the Vandread team dodged (too close, I may add) and shot out green energy javelin bolts-the same ones, in fact, that had impaled Jura. Then she changed into a black and blue colored 30 foot long 40 foot high Asian type twelve headed dragon that bellowed out from all twelve mouths, orange flames and on occasion, green swamp gas, trying to swipe with her tail.

"Just great!" grunted Hibiki. "Where's St. George when you need him?"

"Dinna let it bother you, laddie," said Montgomery. "We Scots have been known to battle dragons and worse in our native highlands-  
onward to battle!"

Well, the brothers Mac neil along with the Vandreaders took a lot of pot shots at the heads and eyes, momentarily stunning the Empress, driving her back, that is, till she changed again, into a 40 foot red manticore, swiping with her clawed paws, trying to take bites with her jaws and trying to sting with her 20 foot long scorpion's tail.

"Watch out fot those claws!" warned Meia.

"Hang the claws," said Dita, "just watch out for that poison tail!"

"You just worry over those claws and jaws," said Tsitra, "while Gie Bele and me worry over that tail."

Taliking aim, the General and the Major successfully stun blasted at the tail, staving it off while Gascogne & Co. shot at the rest of the enraged beast, driving her back...that is, until through some sort of illusionary magic, the interior of Pereira's control chamber morphed into a starry universe world with a vast curtain of countless stars-just as Brittany morphed into a demon skeleton with Baal like goat horns and a bony mouth in the stomach, which belched out flaming bones at the Vandreaders, while jumping everywhere and shooting out killer waves of sound which nearly buffeted the Vandread tean with 1600 cycle per second sound vibration currents.

"I've got no idea how much we can take," said Cara. "We're gettin' shakn to pieces! Now we know THAT is hittin' below the belt!"

"Aim for that stomach mouth and the head when in doubt," said Gascogne. "Sooner or later, even Britt's GOT to run out of tricks."

Which was just what the Vandreaders did, blasting at the bone spewing mouth and the head in the hopes of preventing them from delivering any further damage; that method worked well, and it also (again) drove the Empress back, driving her beyond livid before she snarled in a deep pitch shifted voice, "You can't stand a chance forever, I know it so well, and I wager your shelid's got to give out! So far, you've been successful in staving off machines, mecha, capital ships fightercraft and other meanaces with your Vandreads, if not you so called talents, but even those couldn't stop a human, much less the likes of someone like me! As such...will the REAL Brittany Pereira please stand up...?"

And that was when the PSE ruler morphed again-into a exoskeletal/Gigeresque creature that staggered the imagination, standing 50 feet high,  
twelve armed with razor sharp claws on each hand and feet and twelve eyes, four red, four green and four blue, all glowing and now she took several swipes with her claws, shooting out huge energy orbs the banged against the Vandread team's sheild, then did the same with blasting the said sheild with colored energy bolts from her eyes, even jumping up and stompng the dodging Vandreaders with the earthquake generating feet. It seemed to be a losing battle for Gascogne & Co. for sure if it kept up like that.

"Where's your so called victory now?" demanded Brittany in a rumbling voice. "You've won nearly every change you had but now it seems for the first time, your chance of victory just ran out! Your luck just ran out, as I surmised it would sooner or later! Soon, your sheild will give out, and soon I'll wipe you out once and for all...like it or not! After all, everyone loses-Napoleon had his Waterloo, the Romanovs had their Bolsheilvik Cheka, Custer had his Last Stand, Muhammed Ali had his Spinks, and soon, you...you will have your Brittany Pereira! Put simply, YOU WILL DIE!"

How right she was, for the grid like hexagonal sheild that had protected Gascogne & Co. for so long was showing signs of critical deterioration, dying out in some places-and the Vandreaders knew that as well.

"Great," grumbled Gascogne, "what a time for her to be right."

"We've had it," moaned Parfet. "We're doomed to meet the same fate as Barnette and Jura, along with so many unfortunate souls before that."

"Let's not forget Rabat, even if he didn't deserve sympathy," said Duero. "But like the Empress said, even our luck's got to give out sooner or later."

"Yo, lissen," said Cara grimly, "we didn't come down here to get our butts whipped by some nowhere bound narrow minded Empress, with or without her morphin' an' hocus pocus prowess! We've gone WAY too far to give up now!"

"You said it!" declared Hibiki "We ain't givin' up with out a fight-not without a fight anyway! Come on, B.P.! We're callin' you out!"

"Hang it, anyway, Biki," said a glum Gascogne, "I hate to say it, but today may be our last tango."

"What?!" said a shocked Meia. "After all that time, you throw in the towel? You had that never give up look in the Nivana crew long ago and now, for the the first time in years you give up and play coward?"

"Play coward?" said the indignant Empress. "I say she's realistic, that she knows she and the likes of you have come to the conclusion that that you may be on the losing end, with your sheild deteriorating...forgive me for the crudities, but what I've got is the coup de grace. For I've seen things that the lot of you have never seen before...revolutions, coup attempts...ships battling near Orion. I've seen monuments built, cities rising and falling. I've had friends there were once in the Spetsnaz, the GRU, the KGB, the Triads, the Dragons, the Yakuza, even the IRA and the GSG9, M16,  
I've lived long a year before I created newer Pyixises, the Harvest to round up human specimens for my biogenetic creations, and even my Pereira Star Empire, and amassed history and expertise when reading up on the expertise used by Tamerlane, Sun Tzu, Genghis Kahn, Hannibal, Napoleon,  
Crazy Horse, Tamayo Hideyoshi, the geniuses of the Tokugawa shogunate, Ivan The Terrible, Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, Benito Mussolini, yes, even General Mac Arthur. All that, after I sowed the seeds that caused the genders to come apart and start the war between Tarrak and Mejere, before sending out my Harvesters and my PSE as well. And before as well. so many halcyon dreams I had, long before I even discovered and created the first Pyxis, one of which, on a spur of the moment, created a pendant from a fragment...how was I to know it gave me an infinite sorceress power, the ageless ability as a side effect which enabled me me to live for so many years, decades, and so on, while many other people died? In possessing the ability of agelessnes, I attained many memories of the many experiences I had all those decades that passed me by. But then, even memories can cease to exist, given time...like tears in the rain. It's a shame though that inasmuch as I am ageless I can still die from anything else, other than dying of old age." Here, Pereira turned wistful as she added, "It's a shame no one lives forever...but then again, who wants to live forever? We may not be ready for the future...but then, the future may not be ready for ourselves either...after all, the late Sarah Jane once said life is an adventure...no matter; victory is mine-wake up, Vandread sods...time to die."

The PSE ruler prepared to gear up for what could be her ultimate spell to wipe out the Vandreaders for good-that is, until she staggered to and fro, her own sheild dissolving as she gapsed, "W-what's going on here? My sorceress power...my sheild, my mind, waning, fading...!"

At the same moment, Vanna came back on Gascogne's comm, saying, "Vanna to Gascogne, can you read me?"

Spurred on by the latest turn of events, Gascogne spoke in it, "I read you, Big V, what's up?"

"We're channeling our hybrid power to weaken the Empress' sorceress power and her sheild," said the Cornerstone Empire ruler. "That means she's now suspectable to your stun blasts! It's now or never-stun her good but don't kill her!"

Turning to the now weakening Pereira, the Vandread head said, "Like I said, I hate to say it, but today is your last tango." Then she barked, "HEAT 'EM UP!"

"SMOKIN'!" chorused the Vandread team and the brothers Mac neil, aiming their crossbows and stun blasting the weakened PSE ruler whose sheild was rapidly breaking up...and, as it was with the battle somewhat with the AFL-1-8400 on Ganymede, Dita sneaked in from behind and trained her crossbow on a big hole in Brittany's sheild and muttered a few times, "I must not miss," taking aim, and pulled the trigger; the rocketing phaserbolt from her weapon went through the hole and struck its target from behind-

-and there was a BANGBANGBANG! as a faint blue sphere formed around the Empress, as she turned spectorally transparent, with six specter versions of her other forms layered over each other, like a gradient overlay, the Giger version, the skeletal version, the manticore version, the dragon version, the turtle version, the wolf version and last of all, in the center, Pereira's original human form,while there was an echoing roar of agony coming from within all that: "URRRRGH!URRGH! URRGH! URRGH! URGHURGHURGHURGHURGHURGHURGH URGHURGHURGHURGHurghurghurgh urghurghurghurghurgh...!" Soon after that, each of the spectral images shrank to the vanishing point, one by one, along with the sphere which shrank to a tiny white star thal fell to the floor; it poofed in a flash before the starry illusion vanished, the interior reverting back to the central control inteior...and then the Empress faded in out of nowhere, trying to get up to her feet.

At that point, the rest of the group, aware that stalling around when they first had the PSE ruler where they had her cost Jura's life, they were now determined to prevent history from repeating itself, for Gascogne, Hibiki, Meia, Misty, Cara, Tsitra and Gie Bele each took out the special gun issued by Duero, each with the Blue Pyxis bullet, aimed them all at Brittany,  
each one respectively thinking, "Here's one for my dad and my sister." (Gascogne), "Here's one for Jura." (Hibiki), "Here's one for Misty, Pyaro, Tarrak and Mejere." (Meia), "Here's one for me and my friends." (Misty), "Here's one for my best friend and me." (Cara), "Here's one for me when I was a child, and Jura too." (Tsitra) and "Here's one for all the people that were captured by The Harvest and turned into biogentic material, for all the other people they slaughtered all those years, for the earth and its population, and for all the other women and girls, as well as me, Tsitra, Ilyo and Xaltocan they enslaved and brainwashed with XEW, just to get them to work for their Empire-everything." (Gie Bele). After that, just as Pereira was straightening up, the seven shot their guns, the Blue Pyxis loaded bullets rushing towards their target-and at the arms, legs, side, stomach and butt, each bullet struck their mark, causing the Empress to writh and grunt in pain, as each crystal fragment stuck deep in cloth and flesh, blood forming and each bullet shell fell off each crystal...and then those crystals healed each wound as they dissolved into star studded, stream light energy, each of the seven streams surging up and covering the surprised Empress, till they all converged on her green Pyxis pendant and dissolved it, the green crystal and the silver casing part crumbling into dust before disintergrating.

What happened next was a sight to see for Gascogne & Co., as it was to Brittany, haveing been freed from her ageless magic, suddenly started turning old...her long red hair was growing gray streaks, then her hair turned white and then fell off her head turning her bald, her arms and fingers, followed by her legs and feet, all turning bony and wrinkled, her face, like a prickled walnut as her body turned bony, frail and rickety as she gasped. "No...my great power...gone...! Time...coming back to me..." Then, a column of black smoke poured out from her body, as if some black spirit had been freed from her, before she fell to the floor, panting and gasping, shaking and weak, as she croaked, "Free...I am free...free at last, free at last."

While the whole group came foward, Brittany croaked, "H-how? How was it possible that I could've turned out to be evil?"

"Good question," said Gascogne, the bluster from her voice devoid. "You forgot to love ever since you first created those Pyxises. You forgot to love when you created that pendant before it gave you that sorceress power, which caused you to turn evil. You forgot to love when you betrayed and murdered my dad, Rupert, when he was only trying to help you, to save you from that power. And you forgot to love when you first formed your Empire and created your Harvest, considering you also created the Vandread."

"So I did...," breathed Pereira. 'Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.' Such is devine retribution...even Blackthorne was so bullheaded before he realized it was time to appreciate what he had...what were Rupert's last words before he died?"

"He said," replied the Vandread head, "that by the grace of God and his son, he would forgive you with all the love he had for you, even since the day he and you first met, to the day you two got married,  
to the day I was born, right up to the day you turned evil, no matter what, for the bible did say to forgive enemies."

"He said that? You're joking," said the now dying PSE ruler.

"Nope...," replied Gascogne, wiping a tear from her eye. "Mom...right now, all I ask is that you'd best repent while you've got time."

"Well...," said the Empress, "time...to atone for my sins, now that I am free from the pendant's influential power...Rupert...Gascogne...Jura...Misty...Tsitra...Meia...Hibiki...all of you,  
everyone, past and present...forgive me...time...to die." From there, she launched into the ritual words of repentence just as Jura, Barnette and the rest had done, then added, "Gascogne...farewell,  
my daughter..."

After those words, Brittany breathed once, her death taking on the death rattle...and then her bald frail head fell back, before she died...and then, a strange thing happened: a single white star the size of a marble shot out from the dead body of Pereira, flew up and out the door and vanished from sight. Then turning to the rest of the group, Gascpgne said crisply, "It can now be told, she WAS beyond any doubt my mom and before you ask why I didn't tell you all that, well...you didn't ask me."

Suddenly, the voice of Admiral Chimali came on the comm, saying, "Gascogne, can you read me?"

"I read you," said the Vandread head.

"You may never believe it," said Xaltocan, "but the whole surface of the earth is covered in a rainbow dust, and it seems like all the poison air is dissolving, turning into clean air; we've just landed now, several yards from the Palace, and our sensors detect several oxygen envelopes forming all over the earth, all the acid oceans turning into clean blue waters again!"

At that moment, the whole interior, in fact, the whole base, as there were earthquakes, columns and walls falling down; seeing that, Gascogne barked,"DOWN THE HALLWAY!"

Already, the rest of the group didn't need to be told twice and they followed their supply officer turned fearless leader (who was carrying her dead mother's body), down the long deserted halls, back down the way they came, back to their ships, down the tunnel, and for the first time in centuries, were breathing something the earth had been devoid of for so long-clean pure air, and no wonder: for there WAS blue skies, sunshine, clean water-and the vast envelope of the dust of the Rainbow Pyxis that had been broken by the freed PSE staff; the bright star that had flew out from Brittany's body was in the sky,  
and it had flew into the Pyxis dust, turning it bright rainbow gas, merging as one. And to the surprise of all gathered, the rainbow envelope turned into a luminous rainbow of energy, covering the earth, and not only were the waters and the air clean, but new plants and tress grew up out of nowhere, new wild life of fish and game also were born, rubbled buildings that had been covered in poisoned residue were bright clean. Not only that, all the mechanized machinations, all the global machine coverings that had covered the earth, all that stopped turning before they rusted and crumbled away as dust, dissolving along with all the Harvest ships, which also disintergrated, and then...to the amazement of not only Gascogne & Co., but also to those on the Hohenzollern, the allies of Tarrak, Mejere, the Melanus, Lord Granpa, Lady Granma, The Cornerstone Empire, et al...(cue the finale to Firebird)...the whole Earth looked like a planet sized Rainbow Pyxis...before there was a brilliant flish of white light...and all that remained was a fully healed terraformed and restored planet Earth...back to its old, or rather new, depending how you see it, look, long before the dark times had happened. a fully healed planet Earth indeed.

"Is that where...," said Lord Granpa.

"...we came in?" said Lady Granma.

The Vandread team had fled from the crumbling Palace Base just in tim before it all fell apart in a heap of steel and cement; above it was the first clean sky of sunset in years, as several Vanguards streaked by, launching fireworks in the air as the start of the celebrations at hand-in fact there were celebrations taking place on Tarrak and Mejere, in all their cities, on Balderon, especially in Cornerstone, on Ganymede, in the frost covered La Placa, as well as Dredge, and for the first time, all over the Earth...with lots of fireworks, cheering crowds, party noises and bells ringing in the distance. However, deep in the ruins of the palace, on the site of what had been the central conrol chamber where the last confrontation had taken place, Gascogne Rheingou placed the body of her dead mother on a plie of kindling, dreanched all with Pertaline, then set a torch; the blazing inferno made short work of the pile and what had once been the Vandread head's mother turned founder and empress of the now defunct Pereira Star Empire, as well as the creator of the Harvest-and the Pyxises and the seeds of the Vandreads.

Even now, as the embers rose up, through a hole in the ceiling, up to the sky, el al, mixing with the sparks of fireworks, Gascogne stood there, having laid her mother to res, though not before making peace with her before she died. In fact, prior the the funeral pyre, the former supply shop manager had a priest pray for her mother. Right now, straing at the blazing pyre, the Vandread head muttered a prayer, before doing something she never did since her sister's death...she cried and bawled her head off like a baby.

In the center of what had been San Francisco, were dozens of landed ships, celebration bonfires, fireworks, parties and crowds scattered everywhere and in the midst of it were the Hohenzollern/Vandread crew, along with some from the Tarrak/Mejere Universal Council, Lord Granpa, Lady Granma, The Cornerstone Empire's court, the Vandread team, the brothers Mac Neil, Admiral Chimali and Rear Admiral Eos, along with the Empress Vanna, all grouped together when Gascogne came back.

"Congratulations!" said Lord Granpa. "All of Tarrak and Mejere, if not the rest of the galaxy, will be forever in you debt."

"As for Brittany Pereira, she only got what she deserved," said Lady Granma, "yet on the plus side, she DID repent for her sins; we hope she may be forgiven for what she did and that we should pray for her soul."

"Never again will her Empire be a threat to the universe," said Xaltocan, "let alone to people like me, Ilyo, Tistra and Gie Bele, the rest of those other brainwashed women and girls, et al."

"At least," said Ilyo, "all the remaining loyalitsts of the PSE, from the enlisted to the Imperial court, will be rounded up, placed on prison ships and taken to the Jupiter Jail and so on, where they'll serve life with no parole."

"Right said," agreed Cornerstone Empire Governor Mallory. "Well done, Gascogne."

"Don't thank me," said the Vandread head, "thank Dita here; had it not been for her stun blast sneak attack, we would've been history-great finale there, Dit."

"Great shot, battle sister," agreed Misty, "that was one in a billion."

"Not bad for a UFO otaku," stammered Dita, who was blushing. "But don't thank me, thank Vanna and her Cornerstone Empire and Rabat's bunch-we couldn't have done it without them."

"Amen," agreed Vanna. "Now the earth can make up for lost time and repopulate."

"Wait," interjected Cara, "we ALL helped in stoppin' the Empress in her tracks."

"Not bad for a bunch of L7 sods," saif Hibiki, finally thankful that the real long bloody war was over, and that he and the rest had finally saved the earth.

"The planet Earth...seemed so lost, so alien," said Major Gie Bele Taltli, "and now it's good to have it back again."

"We're finally home," said General Tsitra Steg Garus, who drew up to bart, "home at last," before sharing a kiss, as did Duero and Parfet nearby

"Did you hear that?" said Paiway to her frog. "We're home at last," that saying her frog, "Now THAT is a Pai Check worth saving, ribbit!"

"Magno...B. C...Barnette and Jura would've wanted it that way," said Meia, as she froze and said, "What's that?"

In fact, she and all the rest froze and with good reason-for there, two yards from the assembled group, were spectres of Barnette, Jura, B.C., Magno and, to Gascogne's surprise, her old mother, Brittany Pereira Rheingou, looking regal and cheerful at last, in her PSE uniform, minus the Green Pyxis pendant, along with a Viking blonde studly guy in a uniform similar to Hibiki's-husband and father to the Vandread head, Rupert Rheingou, sharing a hug with the said Brittany. For a moment, the groups stared as in in metnal commincation ahd understanding as if their work was finished. Then the spectres faded out before the party resumed, Hibiki and Meia sharing a passionate kiss prior to joining the merry celebration at hand in which there was peace, hope, a new beginning and love-and the planet Earth, to boot.

The Pereira Star Empire was dead.  
Long live the Vandread team.

At last, we've reached the end-almost. Y'see, now we've got to deal with one loose end and that is the Epilogue, but you know that, right? So do a lot of Vandread otaku that, I hope, faithfully read our story to the end. Twelve cheers for Vandread and Gonzo! Domo Arigato!

-a440.

Next: Epilogue: The Omega


	29. Epilogue: The Omega

Time to come full circle in finishing where we started, and it's no lie, free pie, so with that in mind, now we come back to the beginning...duh.

-a440.

EPILOGUE: THE OMEGA

After the traditional rituals, the priest intoned the concluding litany, and then added, "The Lord be with you."

"And with your spirit," replied those assembled.

"May the peace be with you, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit," said the priest,  
doing the sign of the cross.

"Amen," came the reply.

"Go in peace and serve the Lord." intoned none other than Father Andrew Mac neil,  
wiping a tear from his eye.

"Thanks be to God," said those, that were also wiping the last of their tears, then departing in waves; the only remaining were Misty, Cara Staam, the lively redhead, Tsitra Garsus, the elegant redhead and her daughter, Deidre, the brilliant eyed blonde and the blue haired daughter of Hibiki and Meia Tokai, Jura, named after their fallen Vandread comrade in memory. And before them, was a twin grave which read: TOKAI, along with, HIBIKI TOKAI,  
HUSBAND & FATHER. MEIA GISBOURNE TOKAI, WIFE & MOTHER. REST IN PEACE.

"That was a good funeral," said Tsitra. "The irony was that poor Hibiki died a day right after Meia died...may she and her husband rest in peace indeed."

"Ironic still," added Cara, "was that day is also the first anniversary that Gascogne also died; she was a real old lady at the time. It's a dirty shame much of the 'ol Vandread crew's fadin' away."

"But we may never know just how dad died," said Jura Tokai. "Was it really a broken heart he died of?"

"Who knows?" said a melencholy Misty. "I would too, if the one I loved and cared for died. Some say that though he was medically stable for an old man, yet the docs lost him all the same. You know...  
it's all a far cry from the old days since war with the PSE first started...and ended..."

"Yo, how could we forget?" said Cara. "Ever since Gie Bele married Rael Tobias of The Cornerstone Empire, her life's been, so the gossipmongers say, in orbit. In a matter of time, her rapid ascent to Admiral of the new Vandread crew of the Hohenzollern, along with her daughter, Adair...it's a shame she, Rael and their daughter were too far away for them to come to the funeral, having crucial business matters in Toronto."

"And the new Lady Granma of the Tarrak/Mejere Council," added Tsitra, "was too busy herself, at the new earth's Neo United Nations."

"Dita?" said Deidre with a giggle. "To think she was once a UFO otaku with a ditzy mind, a stylish tiara and midriff that mistook Hibiki for an alien-and yet also was Misty's battle sister. But it's too bad dad couldn't make it to the funeral either, since he was busy with our hockey team."

"Amen," agreed Jura. "Who knew the clumsy bishonen pilot that one flew the Nirvana in the buff would be the manager of our Vandread hockey team?"

Sighing, all Misty could say was, "Truth is sometimes stranger than fiction...and yet throught truth, it was a good thing Andrew and his brothers Mac neil atoned for their sins by joining the priesthood-from convicts in a freezer cell to soldiers of Christ...it was lucky Father Andrew was able to come to do the funeral ceremony. For that matter,  
we've never stopped thanking God and his son for the brothers' arrival and for Hibiki coming into our lives; we would've would've been pirates all our lives, had it not been for him and the Ikazutchi arriving at the right place at the right time.  
In fact, ever since the war ended, we've had a small club-the Vandread Club which does chairity work. Then, there's Requiem masses for B.C. Magno, Barnette and Jura, to honor their memories."

"And even today," said Cara, "the saga continues since Misty here became the new general of the new Vandread team, with me, Deidre, Adair, Jura, Rebecca, Erza and her daughter, Belvedere, Amarone, Celtic and Justine as the team's pilots."

"Duero and Parfet's daughter?" said Jura. "Well, at least she's a great Dread pilot just as I am a great Van pilot, using my dad's Vanguard which we fixed up and upgraded."

"Your old man would've wanted it that way," said Deidre. "The torch is passed on-say, speaking of Duero, is it true he got elected as the new Lord Granpa of the Tarrak/Mejere Council?"

"That he was," replied Tsitra, "while his wife Parfet was a good small town medic carrying on her practice in a small town called-what was it again?-London, England, with Paiway as an M.D. in her own right-hard to imagine her as the girl that played with a frog, doing those silly 'Pai Checks'...lucky still, we've got the support of Tarrak, Mejere, the Melanus,  
The Cornerstone Empire and the rest; I hear the Empress Vanna is celebrating her 101st birthday, but since age reckoning is different with Balderonians as it is with other races, it's no wonder she doesn't look a day older. No wonder some people call her the hottest granny of Balderon. Well, we've got next week for the Vandread crew to get back to keeping the peace, should another crisis crop up again, anytime, anyday."

"Agreed," said Misty. "Well, group, we've got a lot of ground to cover when the time is right, so let's settle down and cover it-  
it's a shame to a see a saga as ours to fade off."

"Maybe," said Cara, "but there will always be reruns, DVDs, Blu Ray discs and fanfiction."

On that note, the group parted, with only Misty remaining; she took one last look at the grave before exiting the cemetary, then passing the Golden Gate Park, then heading near the Golden Gate Bridge, its color restored; on the other side of the bay in the distance was Marin County where the ivy and vine covered Kurzester carrier that had once been the Empress Brittany's stood,  
vegetation covered and forgotten, as a flock of white birds flew up over it, with the blue haired Major's MP3 player, which had once been Hibiki's, playing Boston's Long Time.

"The Alpha," muttered Misty, "and the Omega, the beginning and the end. May all the accusers, so called sockpupperts and other evildorers learn one fact-where and when they sow the seeds of evil, the Vandread Squadron is always there to stop it in its tracks,  
so that the chances of the Earth falling in corruption centuries ago, as it did once, be unlikely. Now I feel safe and free...and now,  
as it was before The Harvest and The Pereira Star Empire, real peace can start again...for now."

THE (EVER LOVING) END

At last, once again, yet another muse is finished, my first Vandread maxiseries (if it can be called that). Sorry for the long delays and years it took to make it,. but the best things come to those that wait. So the brainy folks and Vandread freaks say.

My special thanks to the following for making the fan fic possible, to Gonzo, to the populace of Tarrak and Mejere, to all Vandread forums, fan sites and soundtracks, to Starz, the Independant Film Channel, where I first saw Vandread, to tony Oliver, Mary Elizabeth Mc Glynn Norris, to Julia Madelena and much of the Vandread American voice cast, to all Vandread otaku on both sides of the Pacific,  
as well as the world.

One thing's for sure: the next time I write a fanfic, be it Vandread or otherwise, I may keep it short and sweet, unless I get fan mail. Well,  
time for me to skidaddle and get me some designer jeans. Happy hunting.

-a440 


End file.
